The Prepetual Promise (Discontinued)
by ReviewR524
Summary: Sequel to Forgive me, Basically me trying to write Arc4... Sanctuary holds many secrets, many mysteries just waiting to be uncovered, all while surrounded by an impending disaster. Can Subaru and the Emilia camp survive the week in this isolated area? (On Hiatus due to plot holes)
1. Chapter 1: Their Arrival

_**This is a sequel to (Forgive Me) and (Known By No One But Them)  
Make sure to read them before you read this one, it helps a lot with clearing doubts with the current circumstances.**_

 _ **Please enjoy 8D**_

...

 **Chapter 1: Their Arrival**

"He did what now!" Aldebaran was reading the news about the success of the recent subjugations which were on a display board in the capital. "Well, that sure was something, I'll wait a bit to see if it works out... AGH!"

He was smacked on the head with a fan, the one holding it was Priscilla, she wore her usual crimson red dress, "Stand aside, Al, I wish to see what this commotion is all about... humph, commoners, to get excited over ink displayed on a board"

"I think It's what the ink says, princess"

"Whatever, go get Schult I'll be late for dinner if this persists".

They walked away from the board and climbed on to her lavish dragon-drawn carriage, lined with gold, jewels, and crimson red ribbons. Al took a look at the poster one last time before ordering the driver to leave.

.

After they left, people started to disperse, then two people came up to the board, one wore a ragged white robe, with sheathed twin blades on his back. He had messy black hair and dark green eyes, his left cheek had a scar on it. On his shoulder was a younger girl, about half his age, she wore a dark silver cloak, unlike the white robe the boy was wearing, her cloak was kept tidy. She had hidden brown hair within the robe, her eyes shone a dull orange.

"So, what's it all about, Tsuki?" The boy asks the girl on top of him.

"Ki-san, it's someone wearing a tracksuit..." She pointed at a picture, it showed Subaru in his normal tracksuit, beside him was Emilia, there was a picture of the other Anastasia and Crusch but they ignored it.

The boy walks closer and gets on his toes to look over.

"Hmm, haven't seen that in a while... Emilia camp, we'll have to find a way to him, he might know something... though that can wait for later, you hungry?"

He tilts his head up, Tsuki looks down and nods at him. He lowers her down from his shoulders and they walk of continuing their venture through the market of the capital.

"It seems Hoshin and us aren't the only ones getting sent to another world..."

* * *

After riding for half a day, Subaru and the others they finally reached the village of Arlam, it was almost evening, the late afternoon sun slowly fading behind the distant mountains. Subaru's and Emilia's heads were peeking out from the back of the carriage as they looked outside, the barrier gems can be seen glowing from the forest. They stopped at the gate of the village, It was all very nostalgic but...

"No ones here..." Subaru said as he steps out of the carriage with Beatrice, Rem and Emilia following.

He was right, the whole village was empty, no one was outside, the torches were unlit, it was as quiet. Subaru was now silently panicking, he went away for three days, and half of the village just disappears, what could have happened, Beatrice sensed his unease and just tugs at his hand 'Calm down, I suppose'.

"It doesn't seem like anything happened, the other half probably haven't returned yet..."

Subaru breathed a sigh of relief as he heard Otto's opinion.

"But... it takes eight hours to reach Sanctuary so they should reach here before us..." Emilia said worriedly.

"Either their playing safe..."

"Or something happened at Sanctuary, I suppose."

Beatrice completes Subaru's sentence, it happens often now, occasionally Subaru would say half of a statement and Beatrice would finish the rest. It's amazing how they would be perfectly in sync everytime this happens.

"It would seem that it is the case, Subaru-kun"

They had the smaller half of the villagers consisting of the village children, their parents and many young men that served as the villages military force. With half of them absent, it would be difficult for the village to operate properly.

"Well... can't do anything about it as of now, let's return to the mansion for the time being. Hey Otto, you have no place to stay so you're coming with us to the mansion okay."

"What!? I couldn't possibly do such a thing, to lounge at the Mather's mansion. I can sleep in the dragon carriage, you know."

"Shut it, how are you going to meet with the weirdo if you can't even enter his house, I suppose" Otto slumped in defeat after Beatrice's sharp remark, "Beako's right and you better get used to it cause I'll pull you deep into this camps affairs"

They waved the villagers off, Subaru and Otto's friendly banter proceeded for a few more minutes while the others were laughing. They walked towards the mansion, it shared a similar atmosphere to the village but it left the impression that it was left just a few minutes ago because it seems that everything outside was tidied up, the hedges were trimmed, the flowers were watered, it was thoroughly taken care of, even though nobody was 'supposed' to be present.

* * *

They all entered the mansion doors, all except Otto, who split off with them to bring Patarasche and his ground dragon Verhoe into the stables. To their surprise, they saw that the whole place was spotless, it appears that it has been recently mopped, the flowers beautifully presented in their vases, the windows cleaned so perfectly.

"Woah, I don't remember the place being this clean before we left..."

"You have returned..."

A voice, it was feminine no doubt about it, came from the top of the stairs, there stood a tall figure, covered by light shadows, it held an elegant posture and was holding what seemed to be a broom. Subaru looked at her, clearly surprised, "Frederica-sama, you have returned?" Rem called out to her.

The woman, one Rem called Frederica, went down the stairs slowly, as her figure entered the light they could see she was wearing a maids outfit, slightly different from the one Rem was wearing, she had blonde hair and bright green eyes.

"It is good to see you again, Rem, Emilia-sama..."

As she reaches down the steps she does a graceful bow, her gestures show that she had years of experience, she probably mastered the art of service. She slowly lifts her head up and faces the man she doesn't recognize, "Greetings honored guest, I am Frederica Bauman, maid of..."

Halfway through her introduction, she stopped as her eyes focused on the little girl beside Subaru, "B-Beatrice-sama..."

"Fang maid..." Beatrice replied impassively.

She blinked her eyes several times, 'Impossible' ran through her head multiple times, though she snapped out of it in mere seconds, "I-It seems you have found... They?"

"No, I suppose, but he will have to do for now"

"For now! Your planning on ditching me later on... even after all I've been through to get you out of there, I suppose..." He said jokingly, patting the little girls head. "Even if I wanted to, I can't due to our contract, I suppose" She pouted and looked away annoyed.

The rest chuckled a bit, they continued their introductions with tea and biscuits.

* * *

They went to a rather large lounge room, Frederica came in with a tray and set it down on a large round table. Subaru sat down on one of the couches, patting on the space beside him, telling Rem to sit there, she blushed a bit and sat with him, It wasn't a very maidly action, Frederica furrowed her brows a bit, she looked like she was going to voice her thoughts but stopped, she could tell that Rem is fond of Subaru, so she decided to see it play out a little. Beatrice, seeing that there is no space, came to sit on his lap, Frederica sat opposite to them, Emilia on a chair to Subaru's right, Otto still not present.

.

"So Frederica-san used to work here about three months ago?" Subaru asked.

"That is correct Subaru-sama, but due to some problems, I have been sent to another branched estate of Roswaal-sama"

"He has another mansion?! Man, I knew he was rich but that's a bit much..."

"Roswaal-sama several more Subaru-kun, we were planning to move to the main estate in a few weeks actually" Rem who was sitting beside him said. Subaru showed a perplexed expression, 'He is too rich' he thought. Shaking off the thought for later he faced Frederica.

"So Frederica, why are you back?" Emilia asked her.

"The master has sent me a letter, requesting my presence in the mansion, I was shocked when I found that the mansion was empty but Ram left letter about what was happening"

They continued conversing, Beatrice finishing off all of the cookies, it was revealed that Rem and Ram were taught by Frederica, with her being their senior maid, they shared a few laughs, Frederica showing her sharp teeth startling Subaru a little. After a while, Otto came in.

"I've put Patarasche-chan in the stables, she was feisty but we managed," He said as he approached the four, his shoulders slumping down.

"Okay good, Frederica-san, give Otto a room, I'm going to the library with Beako, gotta discuss some important things"

They all split up, Emilia went to her room, Rem continued with the mansions cleaning, Frederica brought Otto to a vacant room and then went and joined Rem. Subaru was with Beatrice in the Library.

* * *

Otto was in his room, taking something out of his pocket, it was a sack, a small, nearly empty sack. "Huuh... can't let this chance go to waste..."

He sits on a chair that was beside the window and peers out, he sees Subaru walking across the lawn and sighs, "Chances aren't the best but I have a feeling it might work out..." He continues talking to himself.

.

Emilia was in her study, looking at the green crystal on her necklace, "Come on Puck..." The crystal glowed faintly but that's all. She sighed and stared at it for a while, she then continued with her studies.

.

Frederica and Rem were preparing dinner, Frederica noticed that Rem was much more lively than she last saw her, it peeked her interest so she decided to ask her about it, "Rem, I don't think I have seen you smile like that before, did something happen while I was gone?"

"Well... everything in the mansion lightened up when Subaru-kun showed up. Even Beatrice-sama, she started to come visit for meals regularly," Rem said cheerfully. Instantly, Frederica thought, 'Doing the impossible, Subaru-sama is an interesting person'.

* * *

"Burn it, I suppose..." She tosses her Gospel over to Subaru, he caught it, surprisingly it was light for a book it's size, it would make sense how she can carry it all the time. He decides to postpone it till later.

"Okay then, I guess I can do that... surely that wasn't the only thing you wanted to tell me, right?"

"Take a seat, I suppose" She points to a chair, with a table in front of it, there were sweets on the table, they looked quite fresh but who knows, they might have been there for ages.

"I want to talk about the conditions of our contract, I suppose"

"Okay then, I'm all ears" Subaru sat, taking one of the sweets and stuffs it in his mouth, Beatrice doing very much the same.

"Betty is an artificial spirit so my mana consumption is at a very inconveniently high rate, I suppose, our contract has several conditions you must follow. First of all, you cannot form a contract with any other spirit besides Betty, secondly, Betty isn't able to restore mana on her own or use atmospheric mana like normal spirits do and lastly Betty can only be supplied mana from Subaru, I suppose"

"Woah, those are some tight conditions, so then where have you been getting your mana from for those four-hundred years?" he said as he munched on a muffin.

From Subaru's knowledge, spirits require mana to manifest themselves physically so when you run out of mana you basically disappear.

"Betty can use the Forbidden Archive to leech mana from anyone who enters, Betty can then use that mana for herself, though the rate of draining is low as to not immediately tire them out"

"Wait, so all that time, you let me in the library just so you can take my mana?! That explains why I get sleepy... I thought my brain got bored of reading books. You know you could have just asked if you wanted some mana..." She 'humphs' and looks away.

There was some back and forth conversation between them until Subaru asked her about, "Mother... who is she, the one who created you? I'll have to have a little talk with her considering your last contract..."

"Mother is dead, I suppose..."

.

.

.

Silence, it invaded the now awkward atmosphere, ofcourse she's dead, what was he thinking, no one could live for four-hundred years... unless they're immortal. Beatrice just kept on eating the sweets, as if oblivious to the change in the mood, "Uh..."

"The witch killed her a few hundred years ago, now she resides in Sanctuary, I suppose"

"She resides in Sanctuary...? Nevermind, what is sanctuary anyway?" Subaru decides to pry into the topic it later, she doesn't seem uncomfortable talking about 'Mother' but Subaru does, a little anyway.

"Sanctuary is a place where halves, found by clown face, gather. It has something to do with a war many years ago, Betty doesn't know much about it, I suppose"

She continues eating more sweets, 'doesn't she get full?' Subaru thought, "Okay, then this library is..."

"It's yours now..."

"Okay co... Wait... Mine?! Wasn't it Roswaal's or something, why is it mine?" He was always under the impression that The Forbidden Archive belonged to Roswaal since he was a magician and there is a saying that magicians never reveal their tricks, but he was wrong.

"The Forbidden Archive was Mother's, she told Betty to guard it until 'They' arrive, then the fate of the library rests upon their hands, I suppose, Betty just integrated it with the mansion through Gate Crossing. Your not 'They' but who else will Betty give it to, I wonder"

"I guess that makes sense... though what do I do with a library, I can't even read properly..."

"For all Betty cares, you can just burn it with the book..."

"Alright then, I'll think about it... now, to more important stuff..." From one of his pockets he takes out a black book with spiral patterns on it, It was Betelgeuse's gospel.

"Juice's gospel... you want Betty to help you read it, I suppose?"

"Yeah, all I see is jibberish"

"Obviously, only the reader of the gospel can read it, though Juice's witch genes might make some of the text fathomable, I suppose..."

He kept on inspecting the book, "Witch genes? What are those?"

"They are like blessings, though only a total pair of nine exist and only one can have the same Witch genes at a time, I suppose, It is how Juice was able to use his authority. When the previous holder dies it goes to find someone compatible".

* * *

Rem has left the kitchen and was heading for the dining room where she came across Subaru, he was waving to her, "Subaru-kun, Dinner is almost ready, is there anything you need?"

"Yeah, I'll need a lit torch, I'm gonna burn a book, can you bring it outside?"

In an instant, she zips past him into a storage room, ruffling can be heard, Subaru sighs and walks outside where Beatrice was waiting, she was holding her Gospel. As he left the door, Rem was already beside him, holding a small lit torch, "Woah... your fast Rem..."

"Subaru-kun should know that if he needs help, Rem will be there in an instant"

She hands the torch over to him, he takes it with his left hand and gives her a head-pat with his right hand. Her cheeks were tinted pink though it wasn't very noticeable. "Thank you, Rem"

Beatrice gave them an annoyed look, she didn't like being unnoticed, "Okay let's get this going" Beatrice hands over her Gospel to Subaru, he lights it on fire and throws it up, Beatrice then shot it with several Minya stakes, it fell on the ground, the fire turning purple as it ate the book.

"Okay now that that's done with let's go eat"

They all came back inside after Rem cleaned up the remains of the burnt book.

* * *

"Ahh, I missed you" Subaru took a big bite, Rem's cooking combined with mayonnaise was the best thing he has ever tasted.

In the dining room, Subaru sat beside Beatrice, Emilia sat where Roswaal would usually sit and Otto was opposite of Subaru. Rem stood beside Subaru while Frederica stood behind Emilia.

Emilia and Beatrice were enjoying the mayonnaise, though Beatrice tried to hide it, it wasn't working well. Otto also seemed to like mayonnaise, though not as much as the other three. He was very curious about the ingredients and was surprised by the small amount needed.

After they finished, a discussion about going to Sanctuary started, they decided that they would leave in two days, early in the morning, to bring back Roswaal and the other half of the villagers.

"Okay then, I guess we can call it a night"

* * *

They split off once again, Subaru went to the stables where he saw Frederica doing some cleaning, he goes over to Patarasche and raises his hands to her snout, "Hey Patarasche, thanks for the help back there, kinda late but who cares. I'll be counting on you from now on okay"

He pats her and she licks his hand, Frederica seemed amused by their interactions.

"You have tamed quite a fine ground dragon Subaru-sama..."

"Tamed? Well... It's either I'm really good at handling them, or Patarasche just really, really likes me, though It's most definitely the latter"

After a few more pats on the head for Patarasche, he went back to the mansion, looking to find Emilia, he found her in her study looking at her crystal.

.

"Hey Emilia, is Puck out yet?" For the past three days, Puck has been inactive, he hasn't formed and it is making Emilia anxious.

"No... I know he's in there but he isn't responding... this is longest he's been out..."

"Well, he's probably in there trying to save the world or something, we'll just have to wait a bit longer" He calms her down and they have a little conversation until she went back to studying.

* * *

Subaru then went to take a bath, after two days of running around killing whales and hooded madmen he accumulated a fair amount of sweat and one bath simply won't cover.

After he was finished he went back to his room, he opened the door and was surprised to see Beatrice on his bed, "Hey Beako, we're back at the mansion and you have your bed, you know..." During their stay at the Karsten residence, Beatrice slept with Subaru due to the lack of rooms, Subaru has gotten used to hearing someone else breath while he sleeps, but now since they are back she can go sleep on her own again, she knows this.

"D-Don't you get tired of sleeping in the same room for four-hundred years, I suppose?!" She says this as if she heard him say something unbelievable.

"Hmm...Fine, move aside..." he drops beside of Beatrice and pulls the sheets over them, "Goodnight Beako..."

"Goodnight, I suppose..."

Immediately Subaru fell asleep, however, Beatrice was awake, her eyes still closed though, she was in deep thought, about Sanctuary, and that person...

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I'm back with the sequel of Forgive me, It now has 3.5k views OMG :3. This fic will cover all of arc 4 so get ready for a long ride.  
** **I'll try my best to make each chapter at least 3k words long, but updates may take very long, I'll try my best to make one every five days though it may stretch over to a week and a half, mostly because the fic is still in the planning stage.**

 **Soo... You want to know who Tsuki and Ki-san is? Hmm... Nah I won't tell you. Just know that they are OCs so searching on google won't do you good.**

 **Leaving Reviews will make my day, so thanks in advance!**

 **Upload speeds may vary greatly, immensely, and all the other adjectives there are about size.**


	2. Chapter 2: Their Departure

**Chapter 2: Their Departure**

Subaru was sound asleep in bed with Beatrice. He felt someone lightly calling his name, shaking him, "Subaru-kun... wake up..." the voice called to him. He opens his eyes, the open windows showering him with the morning sunlight. He looks up and sees Rem beside him, giving him a sweet smile. "Hey Rem, thanks for waking me up _*yawn*_ "

"Anything for Subaru-kun" she chimes.

He sits up but he felt something holding his left arm, "Beako's still asleep? Oh well, better let her rest..." He gets up on his feet doing a few stretches then suddenly Rem gives him a hug, he succumbs to her warmth and hugs her back. Once they released Rem pouts, "It's not fair that Beatrice-sama gets to sleep with Subaru-kun... R-Rem wants to sleep with you too..."

She says the latter rather shyly, looking quite flustered, "E-Eh... n-no I can't possibly do that... not yet anyway..." Subaru says, his face a little red from embarrassment.

"I-It's okay... if Subaru-kun would rather sleep with Beatrice-sama..." She looks down, her face showed sadness, "Eh! That's not what I meant... If Ram finds out, you know what she'll do so yea..." He looks away, scratching the back of his head, he thought about sleeping with Rem, then about how Ram would kill him the next morning, he shivered at the thought.

"Then Rem will try her best to convince Nee-sama" Instantly, Rem's mood made a 180 turn, she was happy and showed a determined face.

Subaru pulled the sheets over Beatrice who was still sleeping and leaves the room with Rem, closing the door behind him.

.

"Hector... kill you... I suppose..." She furrows her brows and mutters this in her sleep, no one heard her.

* * *

"Ahh! What kind of sorting system is this!" Otto screamed as he shuffles through several stacks of paperwork, "Beats me, I can't even read any of that stuff" Subaru replied.

Subaru was with Otto in Roswaal's office, on his desk were multiple piles of unsorted pages, Otto looked at it in disbelief while Subaru stares at Otto as he tries to order the mess. Otto arranged the documents at terrifying speed. He glances over the documents until gets the gist of the content, then throws it onto a mountain of papers stacked up on the desk, and continued doing one document after another. Subaru watches, his head starting to get dizzy from the intense speed at which he is asserting the pages.

"Elior forest... this goes here... Land border management... goes there... wait..." He suddenly stops, and drops the papers that were in his hands, "These documents are supposed to be classified information... so why am I looking at them?"

"Took you awhile to notice huh? Well... I told you I'll pull you in deep into this camps affairs, remember? And now that you've seen it, I can't let you leave" He whispers the last part to him.

"W-Was that meant to be a threat..." He stutters. Subaru backs off and looks at the pile, "You can interpret it any way you want. The Emilia camps got a shortage of allies, so I decided to go make some, though you gotta be careful with who you pick. I chose you cause you seem to have some satisfactory terms"

"Terms...?"

"Yeah, your factionless, your a merchant so you gotta have some calculation skills or something and you aren't discriminatory towards Emilia... you also seem like someone we'll get along well with"

He goes back to sorting the papers, "I see... wait what was that last one?"

"You show no discrimination towards Emilia?"

"No after that"

Subaru gave him a confused and an annoyed look as he picked up one of the papers,"I didn't say anything after that... wait a minute..." He noticed something in the document he was holding, it was about the mining rights of Elior forest, "But... Anastasia was never part of the original deal... so why did he..."

The documents were about the shared rights that came with the alliance, the one Roswaal was forming but was postponed, Subaru was able to form the alliance while he was gone but there was an addition of Anastasia's camp as well, Roswaal wasn't informed about Anastasia so he wouldn't have a reason to add her, that was unless Ram filled it out.

"Something wrong, Natsuki-san?"

"Uh... Nah, thought I saw something weird is all" He pushed the thought to the back of his head, for now, he would ask it to him later when they returned. He headed out of the office and left Otto with his sorting.

* * *

He went outside after talking with Emilia and Frederica for a bit, he saw Rem, she was going somewhere, he ran off to catch up to her, "Hey, Rem! You going to the village?" She stopped in her tracks and looks back with a happy expression, "Yes, Subaru-kun, we are low on seasoning so Rem is going to buy some"

"Oh, mind if I accompany you?"

"Rem would like that..." She quickly grabs his arm and hugs it, Subaru was a little startled by it, 'I'm gonna have to get used to this' he voiced to himself.

.

Once they reached the village, Rem and Subaru split up, Rem went on with her shopping while Subaru did his daily Radio calisthenics with the villagers.

"VICTORY!" The crowd cheered as they were finished with their exercises, Rem was watching from the shade of a store, the village children were rushing at Subaru, playing with him, Rem went up to him.

"Subaru-kun always makes the mood better doesn't he"

"Rem-rin!" The children squealed as they saw her.

The village children have grown quite attached to Rem since the Mabeast incident, they would always cling to her whenever she went shopping for supplies. They had some fun but Subaru and Rem noticed that something felt off, it was Petra, she wasn't as cheery as she used to be.

"Petra, Something up?" Subaru asked her as he went down to her eye level, "Uhm... no, not really, I'm just worried about everyone else..."

"Don't worry, we're going to Sanctuary tomorrow to check on them" He was trying to reassure her, but she still seemed a bit gloomy and anxious. He got back up and faced Rem. "Hey Rem, we might take a while at Sanctuary, you think Frederica would like a little helper in the mansion, just a temporary one"

"Maintaining the whole mansion by herself is a difficult job, Subaru-kun is suggesting that Petra-chan will help in the mansion? I don't see a problem with it"

"You heard that Petra, wanna give it a try?" Hearing her name she jerks her head up, her eyes gleaming at them, "I would love to!" She was being very enthusiastic, that was what Subaru wanted.

"Subaru-kun always makes everyone happy"

"Ehe... I guess I do. Anyway, Petra, go tell your parents first, if they approve, come over to the mansion, you will meet our senior maid"

"Okay!" She rushes off to the other children, getting them all excited. Subaru takes Rem's hand and they walk back.

"Hopefully Beako gets along with her".

.

Outside the mansion, Beatrice was waiting with an angry and impatient face, "Hey Beako, I see you were waiting eagerly for us!"

"You left Betty alone, I sup- KYAAA!"

As she was relaying her displeasure, Subaru picks her up and seats her on his shoulder, "Yeah yeah, it's your fault for looking too cute while you sleep, I couldn't bring it in myself to wake you up, hehe"

Rem smiles enviously at the two's interaction.

"Put Betty down, I suppose!"

"Aww, but I wanted to carry Beako for a while..." He starts to slowly lower her down with a sad face, she was actually enjoying being carried though she was too prideful to admit it.

"Ghh, fine if Subaru must!"

"hehe".

* * *

"Hey Patarasche" He calls out to his ground dragon as he enters the stables with Beatrice, sitting on his shoulders. The ground dragon raises her head and looks towards the direction of the voice.

They walk up to the ground dragon, Subaru held his hand out and patted his head, they played a little, Subaru gave her an appa, then she turned to look at Beatrice.

"Eep, S-Subaru! It's looking at me..." Patrasche stares at Beatrice, she nervously she stared back, it got closer but Beatrice starts to back up.

She puts her hand out to stop her but she rubs her snout on her palm. "Eh...?"

"Hmm, Patarasche and Beako seem to be a match, looks like my mission here is done, see ya later Beako, play with Patarasche for a while, okay?"

Subaru puts her down and swiftly leaves the stables waving goodbye to Beatrice, leaving the door slightly open. She was too busy staring at the ground dragon so she didn't notice that he left.

* * *

Subaru went back to the mansion and did his regular chores and chatted with Otto for a bit before bringing Beatrice back for breakfast, she was displeased that he left her. Shortly after breakfast, Petra arrived with her mother, she was interviewed by Frederica and then shown around the mansion, she was to start working tomorrow.

The rest of the day was uneventful, not much happened, Subaru stayed in his room alone while Beatrice was taken away by Petra, she seemed to space out sometimes but she told them it was nothing.

After preparing the carriages for tomorrows departure, they all went to bed.

* * *

He woke up the next morning, it was later than usual, but pretty much the same scene over again, Beatrice sleeping in, Rem pouting, not much changed, but Instead of letting her sleep in, he woke Beatrice up, he didn't want to be late.

He put on his tracksuit, he went over to the table and grabbed a magenta colored cloak, with a B sewed in the back in I glyphs. He gave it to Beatrice, she looked at it puzzled.

"What's this, I suppose"

"It's the cloak I promised to make you, what don't you like it?"

"N-No... thanks, I suppose"

She took it and put it on, Subaru put on a prideful smile and they went out of the room, to his surprise, Petra was there cleaning the hallway, she wore a maid's outfit similar to Rem's. "Ahh... you're already up an at it Petra"

"Good morning Subaru-sama, Beatrice-chan, we have prepared breakfast early today so you can go and eat"

She does a bow, it seemed almost perfect, Frederica must be a really good teacher. After commenting on Petra's maid outfit they went to have a quick breakfast.

Right after breakfast, Subaru went with Beatrice to the village to do the daily Radio Calisthenics. After that Subaru was planning on introducing Beatrice to the village the children, Beatrice despaired at the thought and urged him to return to the mansion immediately.

.

"Now that I think about it, Beako and I are quite similar..."

"What nonsense are you spouting, I suppose!" Hearing Subaru's mumbling Beatrice voiced her displeasure at the thought.

"Well, we were both Shut-ins, locked from the outside world, lacking social contact..."

"What's a Shut-in, I suppose, and Subaru has been entrapped by a contract as well?"

"A Shut-in is someone who holes themselves in their room for whatever reason it may be. Entrapped is a strong word, maybe self-isolation would be correct, I felt like I just didn't want to go outside of my room and... well yea that's it, as a result I didn't have many real friends, and most of them moved houses so I rarely get to talk with them, so you could say I was kinda lonely there, but now I have you guys so I'm happy!"

"Hmph, you really are hopeless, I suppose..."

.

The mansion was starting to come into their field of view, well Subaru's at least, he saw everyone there seemingly waiting for them, Subaru started walking faster but Beatrice complained that she was tired.

"If you want me to carry you just say so," He said before lifting her onto his back, making her shriek quietly because of the sudden movement and he made a run for it.

.

"Hey Emilia, hah... hah... are we late...?" Subaru asked her.

"No, you're just in time Subaru," she answered.

They all boarded the carriage, Rem was tasked with navigating the ground dragons since she knows the way while Otto drives them. Petra gave Subaru a handkerchief, white with a golden puck embroidered onto it. He said he'd keep it as a 'good luck charm' as he didn't want to dirty it.

"So, Frederica-san, is there anything we need to worry about at Sanctuary?" Subaru asked her before leaving.

"Hmm... the only thing that comes to mind would be Garfiel, be cautious with how you interact with him."

"Okay, can you tell me a little bit more about him?"

Frederica had to think a while before answering, "Well, I can't remember how he looks clearly but just now that he is really strong and has high authority in Sanctuary, you can get more information from Rem, she's been to Sanctuary more than me"

"Okay then, strong guy, I'll look out for him"

A little bit of small talk and they were off to Sanctuary. It would be a total of eight hours to get there so it was destined to be a really boring ride.

* * *

Subaru couldn't handle it after an hour and decided to tell them stories from where he was from, Rem temporarily moved back in to listen, leaving a curious Otto in the driver's seat. He avoided telling them exactly where he's from, as it would lead to an insane amount of confusion. He had to explain a bunch of terms to them like the ocean, and a spherical world.

It turns out that their worlds differed immensely as if it wasn't obvious already, their world was flat and consisted of one continent containing four countries, they were separated by four rivers which diverge in the center. They extend over to the edge of the world until it makes a steep drop. This is most commonly known as The Great Waterfall, an endless abyss marked with a torrent of water. It is said that it is where the Hakugei goes after it hunts.

.

After his storytelling and lectures, they had reached the edge of a forest, trees could be seen stretching for miles. Rem returns to the driver seat with Otto and tells them that they have almost arrived.

Everyone sighed in relief. If they waited a little longer they just might have died of boredom.

They entered the forest and a few minutes have passed, Subaru was looking outside through the back of the carriage, Beatrice and Emilia peeking out as well though Beatrice had a sour look on her face. For a brief moment, Subaru thought he saw someone deep in the forest, Beatrice saw it as well but refrained from saying anything, suddenly the carriage stopped.

We went to the front of the carriage with Beatrice, making it to the driver's seat, they saw short, blonde haired youth standing before them, he wore an open vest and some rather cool looking pants, he had a noticeable scar on his forehead.

"Them guys with you Rem?" The boy asked.

"Hello Garf, they are with me, we are here to retrieve Roswaal-sama, Nee-sama and the villagers"

"Hmm, okay then..." He jumps onto the top of the carriage and looks down at Otto. "Yo driver, jus a little straight an should be it"

Rem enters the carriage and switched places with Subaru and Beatrice, he wanted to talk with Garfiel despite Frederica's warning. "So... your Garfiel if I'm not mistaken?"

"Tha's right, my amazing self's the strongest man alive, who're you?"

"Strongest man alive? I might give you second or third but strongest maybe... not. I'm no one special, just a soon to be knight of a half-elf, the names Natsuki Subaru"

Garfiel closed his eyes as he takes in the information, "Soon to be knight ey? And by half-elf, you mean the princess that's just passed out now?"

"Yep, that's- Wait What!?" He turns around and sees that Emilia is unconscious on Rem's lap, he could see Rem panic a little as he gave him a worried look, he jumps back in after setting Beatrice down, calling out to her. "Emilia!"

"It's the barrier... nothing to worry about, I suppose, this is a natural for half-bloods that pass through it," She said facing forward, making it look like it's not a big deal, Garfiel also seemed to not be concerned about it.

"Barrier? And you're telling us this now!?"

"B-Betty forgot about it, I suppose, how do you expect Betty to remember everything from a place she's only been in for a few years!"

Suddenly Garfiel looked down at Beatrice from the top of the carriage, "Hey, lil girl, don't think I've ever seen anyone like you in Sanctuary and I know everyone here, so how do you know about the Barrier?"

"Watch who you call a little girl, I suppose!" She shouts while looking away pouting, that was a very, little girl thing to do. "Well, she's Beatrice, my contract spirit. She told me her mother used to live here a few hundred years ago" Subaru said from inside the carriage.

"Contract spirit? Okay then... wait four-hundred years! Then yer like 'The ol' granny on the sleepin hill'! ...But then yer mother must-" Before he could complete his sentence Beatrice sent him a death glare, she sent a terrifying aura at him, keeping his mouth shut out of fear.

"R-Right... hows about that one?" He points to Otto.

"Oh, he's just Otto" Subaru sighed as he introduced Otto  
"Natsuki-san... why did my introduction sound like you were trying to pity me?"

"No, that's impossible Otto, your misfortune is so great it's almost impossible to feel pity for you, haha!"

"What!"

They went past a stone gate and a few houses started to appear.

* * *

"So, Garfiel... care to tell us a little bit about Sanctuary?" He asked Garfiel

Garfiel clicks his tongue before answering, "Tch, thas what the bastard's callin it? Call it what you want but here 'S more or less known's the Witch a greed's cemetery, a test site where a bunch of nobodies gather"

"Nothings changed, I suppose...," Beatrice added, "I heard there were other witches, one for each of the other six sins... Does this place always have such a depressing atmosphere?"

Hearing this Garfiel sighs, "Sure 'S a depressin' place. Jussayin', the people inside're even more depressin'. Everybody's got this gloomy look, like they're livin' but they're dead. 'S messed ups what it is"

* * *

After a few more minutes they saw houses, slightly run down, the overall feel was gloomy. Emilia started to wake up, and they arrived shortly after, the citizens gave them lifeless glances, it was a disturbing scene. They saw Ram standing there waiting for them.

They stopped and Rem rushed over and hugs her, a sisterly thing to do, she was glad Rem wasn't sad anymore. Emilia came out next then Garfiel and Otto, Subaru came out last with Beatrice.

"Barusu..." She slowly approached him, giving him a glare. "You're on your own, I suppose," Beatrice said as she let go of his hand and went to where everyone else stood. They all looked confused when they saw this, mostly Garfiel.

"Ah... a promise is a promise... make it painless ok..." He surrenders, lifting his arms in the air.

"Hmph, I have no intention of making it painless" She raises a hand and faces the palm at him, then sighs "Though torturing you here and now would only make me look bad, instead I'll work you dead when we return, be grateful for my mercy"

He fell to his knees and breaths out a sigh of release, "T-Thank you Ram, for showing mercy!"

Emilia and Rem burst into laughter, Otto and Garfi gave him a confused while Beatrice just doesn't care.

Deep in the forest, something moves, there are many, yet it acts as one. A grave danger seeps through Sanctuary, preparing its onslaught on its residence.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Wooh, Garfiel's accent/wordings were very hard to make, nows where the real differences will pop up, let's see how Subaru reacts when he finds out that Dona is Betty's mom. I think my writing has improved a lot over the last month, I'm proud of myself.**

 **Updates will most likely be irregular later on, but who knows.**

 **~( ' u ' )~ See ya later!**


	3. Chapter 3:The Tomb of a Witch

**Chapter 4: The Tomb of a Witch**

*Smack* A palm went over his face.

"I had to kill a whale and fight a sin archbishop, while you just sat here in bed getting tended to, absurd...!" Subaru scoffed at the man with face paint.

Garfiel was confused, Beatrice, Emilia, and Rem just watched, giving a 'he deserved it' look, Ram was definitely angry and Otto was horrified at what Subaru just did.

The slapping sound resonated through the room, it sounded like it hurt, a lot, but, "Huu... I wasn't~ expecting something soo light, Subaru-kun~, did my injuries make you~ hold back?"

"No... if I did any harder I'll be dead, Ram's already got the look when I got here..."

He points to Ram, everyone saw that she was suppressing her anger, but she calmed down and looked away when Roswaal put up his hand. He was on a wooden bed, his body wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.

"I'm glad to see that you're all alright. Though seeing Beatrice here, is rather surprising..." He gives Beatrice a smile, and she knew exactly what it meant, she humph'd and looked away.

Subaru and Emilia then began staring at Roswaal, making it suddenly silent, "My, my, what's with this staring, it's making me rather uncomfortable, no?"

"You know exactly why Roswaal, so just cut the act" Subaru said.

"My, being so straightforward, I see you've changed for the better, Subaru-kun, I wonder what happened...

"Enough of that shit talk, you decide to be the backer of Emilia, brought her out knowing she would be prone to cult attacks and just leave her in the mansion without some kind of contingency plan?!"

Roswaal sighs "Ah yes, that would be a mistake on my behalf, I am truly sorry for that, really I shouldn't so careless as to do that... now then... the villagers are fine and are currently residing in the Cathedral at the center of the village, as for me, there is no need to be concerned, and for why we haven't come back is simple... we can't"

"You can't...?" Emilia said.

"Yes... as of now... we are all currently under house-arrest, and by the time you entered Sanctuary... you are as well..."

"What are you..." before Subaru could finish his question Beatrice decided to answer it, "He's talking about the barrier, I suppose... Emilia can't leave, she's half-blood... you set us up didn't you... you plan on having Emilia beat the trials to free Sanctuary, I suppose?" Beatrice said, having clearly seen through him, Roswaal chuckles at how his plan was uncovered in mere seconds.

He drops his shoulders"Of course, my sincerest apologies for not telling you in advance, but now that the Royal selection has begun, It's time for you to take your part, Emilia-sama... let us talk later, for now, I want you to see something... Garfiel, please show them to the tomb..."

"Y'sure bout that? Right then, follow me..." Ram urged Emilia and Subaru out of the building, guiding them away, Beatrice followed them, but before they left, "Don't you dare enter the tomb, unless you want to be entrapped by the Witch..." she said this in a much more colder tone than her usual, Subaru wasn't able to ask about it and Rem was tasked with showing Otto to a vacant house so she was already gone.

As Rem was bringing Otto around he told her that he would rather stay in the carriage for the night, but she said it was an order from her master so she should at least show him there, she told him he could go to wherever he wanted to sleep after.

* * *

"Visitors lil-gar?"

A young pink-haired girl was standing a few feet in front of them, she wore a dark purple robe, with red edges on it. Her eyes were ocean blue, she had long ears and held a rather large walking stick.

"Oh granny, Ye it's Emilia-sama an her compatriates"

Garfiel called her 'Granny' though it didn't really fit with her image what so ever. Subaru instantly came with a conclusion, "Loli-Granny" he said aloud. She looked as tall as Petra and Beatrice, maybe she was about eleven or twelve appearance-wise, but hearing Garfiel refer to her as granny made him think otherwise.

"Loli? Not sure what it means burt Sounds like I been made to look bad er somethin?" She said looking at Subaru.

"Loli... I hear you calling Beatrice that, what does it mean Subaru?" She turns to Subaru with questioning eyes, Garfiel also faces him. Beatrice turns away, she already knew what it meant.

"Hmm... well a loli is... a person who has an appearance of a little girl, disregarding all other factors such as age, so loli technically means saying 'you look like a little girl' yea?"

"Not sure, if thas a complerment or something but eright, names Lewes Meyers, kinda like er representative of Sanctuary er somethin," she says doing a polite bow to them, "How bout you?"

"I'm Natsuki Subaru, Maebeast slayer, and future knight! A pleasure to meet you."  
"Emilia, a candidate running for the forty-second king of Luginica, nice to meet you, Lewes-san"

They both bowed back to her in a respectful manner, it was Beatrice's turn but when they looked at each other.

"..." Beatrice was staring at her, she had a pained expression on her face, it didn't look like she wanted to talk. Garfiel saw it and decided to stand beside Lewes.

"Something wrong Beako...?" Subaru asked her, taking note of her expression, It's probably something about her past when she was at Sanctuary. "She shy'r somethin?" Lewes asked Subaru.

Beatrice was surprised when she said this and instantly refutes her statement, "O-Of course not, I suppose...! I-Its Just... that you just look a little like someone, Betty knew... just a little, I suppose..." she turns away.

"Oh... really now? Well, ner helpin that..." Lewes shrugs her shoulders.

"Anyway, this is Beako, she's my contract spirit, say hi Beako"

"Greetings, I suppose..." she waves her hand nervously.

* * *

They continued their talk as they made their way to the 'tomb'. They passed a small stone gate, inside the area looked like an ancient ruin and in the center stood a stone tomb, with a staircase leading downwards, it was surrounded with grass and shrubs, seemingly untouched for a long time.

"So can someone enlighten us on these trials? Beako how about you?" When he called her name she just looks away, "Don't know huh... okay then, Garfiel?"

"Them trial'S a bunch er tests yer gotta undergo in the tomb, happens only at night and ther'er three of em, once yer done, the barrier round Sanctuary's gone, thas all"

"So Roswaal is planning on making Emilia pass the trials... well it would make sense, could give a boost in the Royal election, though going in unprepared like that, I expected a little more from Roswaal... so then this all?"

"Emilia-sama's gotta enter them tomb over there in to check if she got the qualifications, can't take the trial without the qualifications. Though she's er half anyways, so not really necessary, but the bastards insistin on it"

They walked up to the tomb and looked in Emilia took a deep breath and was about to take a step in, but...

"Letting you go in a dark place first without checking if its safe is a terrible thing to do, I'll go in first to check, okay Emilia?" Subaru puts his hand out to stop her.

"May wanna reconsider, Su-boy, that is, unless you wanna end up like lil-Ros back there," Lewes said.

Beatrice tugs at Subaru's sleeve "Subaru should be fine, I suppose, he's terrible at magic anyway," Beatrice said while she stared down, "Hey, I know I'm bad but you don't have to say it out loud! But... what does magic have to do with injuries?"

"When someone enters the tomb, people with the qualifications will make those lights flash, I suppose" she pointed at dull white gems fitted on the tomb's entrance, "If a person without the qualifications come in, they will get rejected and their gates get attacked, so in a sense..."

"The better you are at magic, the more it hurts... well that explains Roswaal... okay then, the more reason I should go in, eh does that mean Beako can't come to?"

"I'm not going in there, I suppose! Not when I know i'll get hurt!" She looks away and kicks on the ground.

"Don't say we didn't wern ya, Su-boy..."

.

After hearing their warnings, Subaru stepped inside the tomb, he took another step, he felt nothing strange, his insides seem to be intact, his limbs are still attached to his body, he takes another step, still nothing, he takes another... then another... until he reaches the bottom, as he reaches the bottom, he felt a little dizzy and had a slight headache, nothing serious. He walks in deeper, the nauseous feeling got more intense but he could manage.

"Are you okay Subaru!" He heard Emilia call out from the outside.

"Yeah, just feeling a little dizzy, there doesn't seem to be-"

 _'Why hello there..."_ he heard a voice call out.

The next thing he knew he was on the ground, he laid on the dusty floor, his mind was fading away, he could hear everyone calling out to him worriedly, the last thing he saw was a wall before his vision went black.

* * *

"Ugh..." He felt something soft on his face as he slowly started to regain consciousness, he felt a breeze blowing past his hair, the dusty floor he was once on was replaced with lush green grass that stretched for miles, "Where... am... I?" He asked, who wouldn't ask such a question, he got up and saw that he was on a hill, with an oak tree on top, some feet away from him was a table, two chairs, and a tea set, a bright blue sky was on the plastered above the world he was currently in.

He looked around, clearly confused, "I've never seen this... so probably didn't die..."

"My, your an interesting one..." He jerked his head back as he heard that voice, he never heard it before, it sounded happy, excited, and not threatening. From behind the oak tree a woman appeared, she wore a black funeral dress and had long white hair, she had a smile on her face as she walked to the table, "You have many questions, and I have many answers, why not have some tea while we talk?"

She pulls out a chair and sits down, and points towards the chair opposite to her, Subaru just looked even more confused, starting to back up a bit, "Apologies, it is quite rude for me to make such a request before my introduction, now is it... well then my name is Echidna... but it would be more understandable if I told you I was... **The Witch of Greed** "

Subaru just stared at her, half expecting some kind of laugh or something witch like but nothing came. He took a deep breath and walked to the chair, and sat down, "Natsuki Subaru... nice to meet you" He raised his hands for a handshake, he was very cautious, though she just looks like she wanted to talk, she's still a witch, so you can't expect something bad not to happen, to add to it, she's also dead.

"Your, Echidna, The Witch of Greed... but I thought you're dead? How are you here? Or more importantly... where is here?" She smiles and giggles a bit after he asks her this question, making him take a more defensive position.

"Hah... it been a while since I talked with someone, no need to worry, I won't bite, haha... anyway, this place here? You can refer to it as my castle, where I make the rules, it's like a dreamscape..."

"Dreamscape? So none of this is real right? I'm just dreaming this?"

"Well, not quite, It's a dreamlike place, I just bought your consciousness here for a little chat, so your real body is still on the ground inside my tomb" It cleared up some doubts but Subaru was still confused.

"But you're supposed to be dead right? You shouldn't be able to talk right now... I'm in your tomb after all"

"Well, I was taken down by the Witch of Envy who was sealed a few hundred years ago, but the dragon Volcanica had entrapped my soul within this tomb, and thus my spirit remains, my sisters are also here, the Witches of Sloth, Pride, Lust, Gluttony, and Wrath... hmm... it would be rude if I didn't introduce them, would you like to see them?"

He was bombarded with so much information that he nearly lost it, he took some time to process it, "I guess I could meet some more but I really need to get outta here, some people are getting worried so if you wouldn't mind"

"Oh, of course, I don't, I didn't really call you here, I just opened the front door... though are you okay with it?"

"Am I okay with what?"

She fought back his demand with a question, and a confusing question it is, he made it clear that he wanted to go back so... "I am the Witch of Greed, I thirst for knowledge, having the chance to speak with someone like me, you sure you want to let this chance go to waste?"

He thought about it for a second, "The Witch of Greed, the embodiment of the thirst for knowledge... you have the answers to my questions?"

She answers with a kukuku kind of laugh, "Starting off with a question like that won't give you answers, but what about this, do you wish to know of the **Witch of Gluttony Daphne** , who created godforsaken beasts to save the world from hunger? About the **Witch of Lust Camilla** , who sought to fill the world with love and gave emotion to those without others? About the **Witch of Wrath Minerva** , who punched all people into health while lamenting the strife-filled world? About the **Witch of Sloth Sekhmet** , who drove the Dragon beyond the Great Cascades just for some peace and quiet? About the **Witch of Pride Typhon** , who brought judgment upon criminals with the innocence and ruthlessness of a child? Or is it about the **Witch of Greed** , me, **Echidna** , who thirsts for knowledge? "

He was bombarded with vast amounts of information, it was things he never heard of, when people referred to a Witch it was always the Witch of Envy, Satella, there were no others that they knew of, at least not anymore. But here he is, being told about not one but six other witches other than the Witch of Envy.

"Is it none of those? Well then... is it about, Satella, the **Witch of Envy**...? The one that destroyed the other Witches, the one that made the world her enemy while pursuing what was most precious to her

* * *

"Subaru!" Beatrice shouted down, "Something happened!"

Everyone was now panicking, especially Beatrice, without a second to waste, Emilia went inside the tomb, when she reached the bottom she found Subaru, lying limp on the ground, he was sweating. She picked him up by the shoulder and carried him back up. Garfiel noted that the lights turned on when Emilia went out of the tomb. Once they were up Beatrice immediately went to check on him, she wasn't particularly worried about his condition, she knew where he was, and she didn't want him to be there, to meet her. He was then carried by Garfiel to a house and was left to rest.

* * *

Subaru fell silent... he was breathing, but he couldn't feel it, his heart was beating but he couldn't register it, he was utterly terrified of Echidna's pressure, the aura she exerted was beyond what was comprehendible.

"Oh, maybe I overdid it with the menacing atmosphere, huh, such a bother, I'm always like this when I'm answering questions, no wonder people never interrupt me back when I was alive..."

Even if she realizes she overdid it, it doesn't reduce the overwhelming pressure she's exerting. The woman that standing before Subaru now is not a what she was anymore, right now, she truly was a Witch.

"Let's try a change of setting," she says and snaps her fingers as she mists away, it snapped Subaru back, he looks around but he saw no one, he looks at the empty seat where Echidna once was.

The next moment the whole world went black, the sky disappeared, the field of grass faded away, all that is left is the table, the chairs, the tea set and them. Subaru looked down and saw an endless abyss. Normally people would freak out, but for some reason, Subaru felt like it was normal.

.

"Hey Nii-san, I'm Typhon!" He looks to what was supposed to be a woman with white hair, but she was no longer there, in her place was a little girl, about Beatrice's size, she had dark green hair, she wore a frilly white and blue dress, her eyes red, she had tan skin and had a blue flowery hairpin.

"Eh... ah... w-where did Echidna go...?" He nervously asks the girl in front of him.

"Dona? Not sure, Dona always goes away without telling us, but what about you Nii-san?"

She points at Subaru asking him to introduce himself, he lays his back on the chair and takes a deep breath, "Um... My names Natsuki Subaru... I kinda got lost while finding my way out of here... now I'm currently being interrogated by a little girl, you see"

"So your, Baru-Nii...!" She said cheerfully, she seemed like an innocent little girl, harmless even, she sat there playfully kicking her legs back and forth, but then she asks Subaru a question "Hey Baru-Nii, are you a bad guy?"

"Uh well... wait, say that again?" Surprised by the question, he asks her to repeat.

"III saaaiiid, ARE YOU A BAD GUY!" she says in a louder voice, pouting after, it made Subaru cover his ears, "Okay, okay I heard you this time!"

"Well, if you ask am I a bad guy... naturally I would say no... but hey, we were born to make sins, I've killed a few people, but they had it coming, so I don't feel guilty for it... though there are things you do that you don't really notice so I can't really say if I'm completely good or not... that satisfying?"

He looks over to the little girl, only to see her spinning her head in confusion, "Baru-Nii... I got lost somewhere in the middle... I'll just check real quick"

She brings out her arms, making a swimming motion, she and the chair slowly came closer to Subaru and when he was in arms reach she grabs on to his left arm, he tilts his head at this.

.

 _'sinscostsnothingbutpaintoatone'_

.

"Eh?"

She whispered something that he didn't quite catch, suddenly he felt something tug on his left arm, his left side felt rather light all of a sudden, he turned to see that his whole left arm was ripped clean of his shoulder, no blood gushed out, but the feeling of missing an arm was uncomfortable.

He kicked back, holding on where his arm used to be, he just looked at it, he wasn't really panicking, he kept on telling himself, 'its just a dream, chill!', he trembled a bit as he looks over to Typhon.

"Looks like Baru-Nii is good after all- here" she tosses his arm back at him, he caught it, looking disgusted at the sight. He turns his head up to look at Typhon but...

.

"Huuh, such a bother, I guess I have no choice..."

Typhon was no longer there, sitting in her place was now another woman, her magenta hair stretches down extremely low, and she seems extremely fatigued but she was still beautiful. Her skin and lips are abnormally pale. Her eyes are narrowed more with a deficiency of will to live, there were bags under her eyes probably due to lack of sleep, and she makes her every breath sound like a bother to do. She's wearing a black robe, but the filth and frayed patches scattered around it give an incredible impression of this seriously being the only thing she wears.

"Witch of Sloth, Sekhmet, huh, let's get this over with, haah..."

"Uh... ah... sorry I need some time to adjust to this..." He points at his arms that was detached from his body.

"Huuh, looks like Typhon's at it again, such an unlucky person you are, meeting three witches in a row... and to still keep sane, well the only other people that have done that would be the dork Flugel, haah, and Reid... the stick swinger, huuh"

She sighs and looks lifelessly at Subaru, he tried his best to stay calm, nothing seems real in here, well nothing is real, it's a kind of dreamscape like Echidna said, "Okay... so question... will my arm come to its place?"

"Huuh, that's not really something I can do, huh, anyway, I feel like I can't keep this up... I'll just disappear then, haah" not wanting to continue, Sekhmet just slumped over and faded away, Subaru was left alone in the void, no one to talk with.

.

"I'm gonna die if this goes on..." He seemed to have calmed down drastically now that he was alone, but...

"Did you just say that word in front of me!" A loud voice says, coming from in front of him, but he saw that nobody was there, the next thing he knew was that he was flung into the air, and the was hit with a flurry of punches, he felt his back being pushed on an invisible barrier. He heard a shattering sound and he fell straight down, into the abyss, at least that was what he expected. He hit his back on a familiar grass field and a crater formed on impact... he was dizzied from the fall but his body felt refreshed for some reason.

He got back up and analyzed the situation, he saw that his arm was back where it was supposed to be, he breathed a sigh of relief, "Let me guess, Witch of Wrath, Miner..."

He stopped mid-sentence as he saw the woman in front of him, she wore clothes that seemed easy to move in and was accompanied with a short skirt, she had blue eyes and wavy golden hair, she had a large chest and emphasized curves, Subaru reflexively turned his head, giving her a shock.

"Oh no, your Lust aren't you... Carmilla, I probably shouldn't look!" His whole body faced away, he covered his face and was trembling.

"What, No!? I'm Minerva, Witch of Wrath! Anyway... your arm is back to normal, it wasn't bleeding so Typhon must have done it... again, seriously, she doesn't think about other peoples pain, that girl! Hah, well there is no other reason for me to be here, so- hey why are you still looking away, I'm not Carmilla you know!"

"Sorry, but I would risk a nosebleed if I looked in your direction, so it would be best if I didn't look..." he said still trembling.

She blushed at what he said, looking embarrassed, then she stomped her feet on the ground looking quite serious, "Ugh, I don't want to see you getting hurt now, promise me that!" She said as she ran off to the distance.

"Sorry, can't promise that!" He shouts, still facing away from her. He got back up and climbed out of the crater in front of him was the table and chairs, Echidna was sitting there pouring tea into the teacups.

.

"So? How was it? Now that you've seen the others you know that you can't really get hurt here and that I'm completely harmless"

"Yeah, right... but your still a witch, your thinking is way different from ours..."

She smiled cheerfully now that they can talk normally, she pushed a cup of tea over to him, he grabs it and examines it, nothing seemed strange, so he took a sip, it didn't taste very much like tea, though the taste was very familiar, "Can't really tell what it tastes like..."

"Oh well that's just my body fluids," she said to him nonchalantly.

...

"Something wrong?" She asks him.

* * *

 **N/A**

 **Wooh, nice and big chapter, 4k words, was aiming for 3k but this is better. Not much to say since I haven't really prepared anything, just expect the next chapter sooner. Exams are done, so I should have much more time to plan this. Also, keep a lookout for a new fic, Warlock of sin, it branches off from this one so it's kinda like an IF chapter kinda thing. Most of the plot was thought by ChristianRed, I'm just writing it down, cheers to him for giving an amazing plotline and idea.**

 **Updates will be constant for now, three days or five days probably, so yeah, reviews are amazing and are highly appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4: Finding out Answers

**Chapter 4: Finding out Answers**

"Buagh!" He spits out the tea remaining in his mouth and fell to the ground holding his stomach. He tried to get the rest out but it didn't work.

"Geez, you know, I didn't poison it or anything, it's just a normal drink, besides, you just drank it here, so your real body hasn't really done it, no reason to be so... paranoid," said Echidna.

He kept spitting out all that was in his mouth, "But it was body fluids, your body fluids! Don't know what kind they are exactly and I don't look forward to finding out, I reckon it's nothing good!"

.

He gets up from the ground and sits back in his chair, looking rather sick, he tried his best to not barf out his stomach empty. He took a deep breath and faced Echidna, "Okay... let's start..."

"Yes, let's," She said cheerfully clasping her hands.

"So..I only met, three other witches, what happened to Gluttony, Lust and... Envy? A-Actually forget about Satella, she destroyed you guys so there are bound to be some grudges... she's also not dead I guess..."

"Right... " she showed an uninterested expression but snapped back instantly "Ok, let's leave Daphne and Carmilla for another time, you might not be able to... how do I say this... understand them, well Daphne anyway, Carmilla might be dangerous... So, any other questions?"

Subaru took a moment to think, putting his now attached left hand to his chin, "Ok, first question... What's in the trials?"

"I do not know... I am merely an observer of the trials, its contents would differ from person to person but the main concept is to reject or to accept a reality imposed by the trial that relates to the taker"

"When you put it that way, sounds like your going to be reviewing your past or something... must be hard for the halves... anyway, second question, what is Sanctuary made for, and why do some people refer to it as a 'test site'?"

This question shook her a bit, it seemed like she didn't want to pry into that direction, but "Sanctuary retains the same purpose, to house those who have nowhere to go, thrown away by the world, in other words, a refuge for people with split lineage... though the name 'test site' came a while after the establishment of the barrier, I really don't want to tell you why though, wouldn't want you to despise me... though your free to look and ask for answers to figure it out"

Having seen that she was unwilling to give any information, he quickly steered off from that topic, "Third question, you've been alive a few hundred years ago, can you tell me about the great mabeast that roamed the world, I don't really know much and it would be great to get educated on it"

Seeing that he won't pry into the name 'test site' she returned to her original happy demeanor, "The Three Great Mabeast... The White Whale, The Great Hare, and The Black Snake... the three most dangerous creatures, children of the Witch of Gluttony Daphne, created with the intention of curing world hunger while starving herself. The White Whale, a vicious creature that soars through the sky, spreading mists and eating away people from existence. The Great Hare, known not for its strength but for its numbers, it devours anything and everything living and is able to replicate itself at will. The Black Snake, the most deadly, feared for its toxic poison, one that can make the very land it trods uninhabitable... satisfied?"

She finishes her overdramatic, speech... no, lecture, with a prideful smile, Subaru sat on his chair, taking in the vast amounts of information and was processing it, "The children of Daphne? So Satella creating the mabeasts was just a misconception... oh well, doesn't really matter, not sure if it's believable, but I kinda took down that damn whale the other day." He said looking very proud.

She widened her eyes when he told her this "Defeated The White Whale? After four hundred years, someone actually did it, though looking at you here, it seems you've gathered quite a bit of help right? You don't seem to have any brute strength, nor do you have a good aptitude for being a sorcerer..."

He sighs, "Huuh, no... it wasn't a solo attempt, but I was given quite a lot of credit, as far as being called the Hero of the subjugation..." he said this while scratching the back of his head.

"My that is interesting, back in my time, the only one that would be able to do such a thing would be Reid Astrea, the Swordsaint, is that still around, I wonder..."

"Swordsaint? Yeah, they're still around, I'm actually good friends with the current one, Reinhardt van Astrea, that guys a monster... anyway enough of that, I really need to get going so I'll ask one last question..."

"Although it is upsetting that you have to leave, ask away..."

"Do you know someone named Beatrice? She's my contract spirit, she used to live or at least visit Sanctuary with her so-called 'Mother', do you know anything about her? Her 'Mother' I mean?"

She looked surprised when she heard that she was his contract spirit, "Beatrice... of course I know her, hard on the outside but soft on the inside, she was contracted to protect the Forbidden Archive until 'they' Arrive..." She put on a rather happy expression, "Her mother would be-"

 **"UAGH!"**

Subaru fell to the floor clutching his stomach, it was glowing and he felt pain and heat on it, "Oh, looks like the Witch genes will settle in now... it's better to experience it here than outside, so your quite lucky..."

She gets off her chair and kneels down to Subaru, "What did you do to me!" he screamed at her.

"Oh it would be the after effects of the tea, my body fluids will help the Witch genes adjust to your body, in a way it's, improving your compatibility with them, well I guess your time is limited, lets talk again sometime... oh and just so you know, I've made you into an Apostle of greed, I doubt that girl will be able to pass the trials at her current condition... your welcome by the way"

"You..." She gets back up and walks away, leaving the suffering boy behind as he slowly vanishes, but she turns around and tells him something, "Before you go... entering a Witches tea party isn't free, for now, I'll have you refrain from talking about this place, at least until someone tells you about it..." she makes a grabbing gesture at him and smiles before the whole world turns black.

* * *

"Ugh... where am I" he asked, he was in a dark void, different from the ones he's normally been to, in front of him stood a shadow, holding what seems to be a purple orb, he was about the same height as him and he was looking straight at him.

The figure approached him, holding out the purple orb, he tried to back off but he couldn't, his body won't move, he started to panic, he tried to shut his eyes, but they won't shut, he tried to scream out but his mouth won't scream, he tried to turn around but his body won't turn, he tried to run away but his legs won't run.

By now he was directly face-to-face with the figure, it was completely engulfed in shadows, he couldn't tell who it was, but for some reason, he felt a strange familiarity with this person. The figure jabbed the purple orb into his chest, his whole body started to shudder, the figure backs away slowly.

 **"Sloth..."** he said, the voice was male, he never heard it before but he felt like he should have.

* * *

.

...

.

He slowly opened his eyes, an unfamiliar wooden ceiling was the first thing he saw, he was asleep on a wooden bed, it didn't feel too comfortable as he got used to sleeping in the mansion's luxury guest rooms, the next thing he knew he was tackled by someone.

"Subaru-kun!"

It was Rem, she was hugging him with small tears in her eyes, "Rem leaves for a few minutes and your already hurting yourself!"

"Ugh... What happened?"

"Geez, Subaru, you've gotta be more careful, when you entered the tomb you suddenly blacked out... we were all worried, I had to go down and carry you up, you know"

"Seriously, Betty's contractor is hopeless, I suppose"

After urging her, Rem released him, he took a good look around the room, the people in the room were him Rem, Beatrice, Emilia, Lewes, and Garfiel. It seems that he had passed out for only a few minutes, though it felt like he was out for quite a while.

"So, Subaru, what happened when you passed out?" Emilia asked him this question.

"What happened? Well... can't really remember too well, I remember... this person... he was like putting something in my chest, it was all pretty dark and I couldn't tell who he was... though it's probably some kind of dream or something so let's not worry about that... anyway, where are we?"

"Well that'll be my house, Su-boy"

"Oh, thanks Lewes-san for lending the bed"

* * *

After a bit of persuading they finally left and continued with a tour of Sanctuary but before they left... "Hey Rem, can you keep Emilia busy... I'm gonna go and talk with Ros-chi for a bit and if she's there..."

"Yes, Rem understands, Subaru-kun can count on Rem"

"Thanks, Rem" He waves to her as he runs off.

.

"Rem where is Subaru going?" Emilia asks

"Subaru-kun has business to discuss with Beatrice-sama, surely Emilia-sama understands"

"Oh, I get it, better leave them to it then"

Rem smiled to her and said to herself, "Emilia-sama is too gullible, Rem hopes she gets out of it later, or it might cause problems..."

* * *

Subaru enters the building with Beatrice in hand, "Let's talk for real Roswaal" Subaru gave an annoyed look at Roswaal as he sat, his bandages being replaced by Ram.

"I've been expecting you a little later, Subaru-kun... but whats this, I don't see Emilia-sama back there?"

"Rem's busy with Emilia, can't have here in this conversation... not that I see her as a niusance but more like she's unsuitable for it. With that put away, we can finally talk for real" He grabs a chair and places it away from Roswaal's bed, he sits on it and Beatrice sits on his lap.

"Alright then... firstly I'd like to show you my gratitude, felling The White Whale and eliminating a sin archbishop, alongside the duchess, and the kingdoms greatest knight, forming an alliance with a rival camp, it would surely be inevitable that you aren't anonymous, may everything works out and you'll turn out to be the Knight Natsuki Subaru, there is no reason to not take pride in that, is there not?"

"I hate to admit it, but you have become quite the person, Barusu, though I am sure stating that you were leaving us to bait Rem back was unnecessary"

"Even Ram... I hope Roswaal is forcing you to say that, cause your the one I expected to berate me, seriously all I did was tell them information, and there they go saying that I'm the hero that slew it, man I think I know a little bit of how Reinhardt feels now..."

"Hmph, to think that you would reject not only Ram's but Master Roswaal's gratitude, that is the rudest you've been, Barusu!" she leers at him.

"Eh, it's not that I'm rejecting it, it's just that it feels like the gratitude is too much..."

"Subaru, you're going off track, please finish what we have come here to discuss, I suppose!" The spirit on his lap protested, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Oh, that's right but before that, I have been informed by Ram that Lady Beatrice had left the library, but I wanted to see it and here she is, and it seems she's grown quite attached to you, care to elaborate on that?"

"Not much to elaborate on, if it's not already obvious, she's become my contract spirit, I kinda begged her out of the Library and that's it," he lays his chin on her head, she allowed it "Now onto more pressing matters... why didn't you tell Emilia about her half-elf Lineage provoking an attack from the Witch-cult, sure it's common knowledge, but for a person like her, even common knowledge is hard to obtain, explain"

"Jumping straight into it now are you, Subaru-kun..."

"Shut it and just answer... please" He started to raise his voice but asked politely as he remembered that Ram was still in the room, "The girl is your superior and thus you should have told everything that is required, seeing that you didn't tell her about this means that you intentionally hid information from her, I suppose, now tell us the reason"

He didn't just bring in Beatrice for show, he brought along so she could help decipher his plans just as she did in their first meeting, she is better off doing it than Subaru.

"Hmm, assistance from your spirit, you've come prepared Subaru... now the simple reason as to why I didn't tell her is because... it would happen, and it did"

Subaru was struck with utter confusion, "That makes... no freaking sense..." He thought about what he said for a second and, "To put it into simpler words, you wanted that to happen? But... then why didn't you, this camps most powerful in the offensive sector, come?"

"Well... it would be true that if I were to appear, the casualties would be minimized, and the time taken would have been minimized..."

"Then...! Of course... if you did it, we don't get the credit, just you, what's the point in that..."

Normally he would burst out, berating him for taking chances on the impossible but, "Beako what do you think of this?"

"He is out of his mind, I suppose!"

"As expected... how about you Ram?

"It doesn't matter what I think, whatever my master wants I will wholeheartedly do, no objections, you wouldn't understand, you lack skills in servantry," She said it as if it was an insult.

"Loyal as always huh... So Roswaal, you left the mansion and Emilia unguarded, and you expected everything to turn out alright, who the hell were you counting on!"

He closed off his blue and stared at him with his yellow one, "Why, no one else... but you, and it looks like that paid off if I'm not mistaken?"

Subaru was dumbfounded, he was losing it, he was about to burst at any moment, but "Your a complete sicko Roswaal, S-I-C-K-O you hear, what was there to count on, last time we saw each other I made a fool of myself, trusting a fool with a Royal candidate is what a complete maniac would do... that is unless you have like future-telling powers..."

The last part was intended to be a joke, but everyone in the room, besides Subaru reacted to it strangely, Beatrice twitched a bit, Roswaal glared at him and Ram gave him a surprised look, though surprisingly Subaru didn't notice any of them.

"Hmm... I wonder what Rem and Emilia would think... man what does everything see in me, geez, I understand Rem and all but everyone else..." He stands up ready to leave.

"So it seems this conversation is at its end?"

"Yeah, gotta catch up with the tour or I'll miss it all..." He walks to the door with Beatrice but before reaching the handle, "Hey Roswaal, was wondering, why haven't any of the Sanctuary residents tried to beat the trials, I mean they're all halves right?"

"That would be due to the presence of a contract between the former residents and Echidna, the former Mather's had little influence on the contract but we aren't completely unrelated, just a minuscule amount of factors came from us..."

"Beako?"

"The contents are as goes, no person can take the trials unless they have come from outside Sanctuary, Do you want to know why, I suppose"

"Nah, its pretty simple, anyone taking the trials from inside would find it easy and thus make the whole thing pointless, that's why they have outsiders take it, they were prone to discrimination and thus should pose a harder challenge"

"Wait... how did you figure that out, I suppose?"

"I... hmm, not exactly sure, it's like I have some sort of residual information or something, can't really tell where it's from, been it's been there since I saw that creepy figure thing in my dream..."

Roswaal looks interested in what he said, in actuality, he knew exactly what happened and a smile crept on his face, after that Subaru and Beatrice left, leaving him with Ram.

* * *

They met back with the others and continued their tour around Sanctuary, now with Otto as he suddenly tagged along, they spent about an hour going around Sanctuary a second time and no matter how many times he looks at it, it's still a gloomy place.

.

It was evening and Subaru was out near the tomb with Beatrice, Emilia was resting up for the trials and Rem was with Ram attending Roswaal. Otto was in the stables talking to his ground dragon, Garfiel was watching him from afar.

"Subaru..." Beatrice called him.

"Huh, something wrong, Beako?"  
"That time... while you were in the tomb, did you meet someone, I suppose?"  
"I told you didn't I, that shadowy figure?"  
"No, I mean anyone else, maybe... Mother...?"

"Nope, all I..."

When Beatrice asked him this questions, the memories of the tea party with Echidna surged back, it was weird how he lost them in the first place but he has them now and, "Why the hell didn't you tell me that Echidna was your 'Mother'?!" Subaru lightly scolding her.

She looked away regretfully.

"Now I have to wait for another time to berate her for putting you through that hell, seriously don't you feel a little angry for making her do that to you, I suppose," He said the last part mockingly.

By now they would have started a playful banter but when Beatrice looks back at him, "Y-You don't mind that... Betty is the creation of a witch..." She looks down with a dejected expression.

"Pfft, like hell do I care, if I did, I wouldn't want to be Emilia's knight. Anyway, Beako is Beako, Echidna is Echidna, and that's that, were you worried about me not liking you?" he crouches down and pats her head.

She looks away, now in a clearly better mood "Hmph, my worries were for naught, I suppose!" though she did sound displeased, a smile crept onto her face, as looked off into the distance.

.

"So... anything about the Trials, Beako?"  
"There are three, I suppose. Past, Present, Future, in that order"  
"Technically, it would be as simple as saying 'yes' or 'no', but when the person in question had a past, present or future they do not wish to see..."

"It will be difficult to accept or reject it... I suppose"

"Stop trying to mock me, I suppose!"

He burst out laughing from their banter and continued to wait a little longer until everyone else arrives, one by one.

* * *

A/N

This chapter was a fun one to write, the new fic is out BTW, do me and Red a favor and check it out why don't ya.  
Not much to say except thanks for your reviews in advance.

Upload speeds may vary, 3 to 5 days, kk?


	5. Chapter 5: The Sight of Your Past

**Chapter 5: The Sight of Your Past**

It was now currently nightfall, Subaru, Otto, Beatrice, Emilia, Rem, Ram, Garfiel, and Lewes were waiting outside the tomb, now that its night time, it looks more like a tomb and has an eerie feeling to it, the trials were about to commence.

"So, you ready for this Emilia? You can always wait till tomorrow to do it you know?"

She was quite nervous, this would be her first actual achievement for the royal election, "Hmm, no, we can't keep them all waiting, their all counting on me, I'm just a little nervous that's all, Puck hasn't shown up in a while and it's making me really anxious, I feel like I'm leaning on you too much Subaru"

"It's alright Emilia, I'll always be there to help out!" he shoots her a thumbs up.

She takes a deep breath, "Huuh, alright let's do this!" She looks back, "Wish me luck!"

"Yeah, we know you can do it!"  
"Destroy that thing, I suppose"  
"Rem believes in you"  
"Tch, jus get it over with already..."  
"Ram has faith in you Emilia-sama"  
"Go get em..."

They all turned to Otto who hadn't said anything, "Uhm... you musn't let us down?"

Their train of motivation was stopped with Otto's hesitance, some of the went 'Ugh' while others sighed, though Emilia looked confused.

"That wasn't at all motivational Otto..."  
"It would've been better for you to keep your mouth shut, I suppose..." Subaru and Beatrice spoke up.

"W-What! At least I tried, come on!" Otto protested.

Seeing their usual friendly interaction, Emilia started laughing, Subaru put on a victorious smile and raised his palm to Beatrice, at first she was confused but she understood what he wanted, she slapped her own palm on his, doing a splendid high-five.

"Ugh... you guys set me up for that didn't you..." Otto said dejectedly.

"Yep, you didn't see it coming"  
"A person like you is best suited for this, I suppose"

After some more laughs, they all got serious and Emilia finally entered the tomb, the lights flashed on when she entered signaling that she was currently undertaking the trials.

A few minutes have past and everyone was now either sitting down or somewhere else, Subaru repeatedly checked on the tomb, looking very anxious.

"Yer lookin a bit down there..."  
"Huh, just a bit worried..."  
"Yer worries not necessary, I myself hef taken them trials, and I'm still fine an kickin, though didn really pass em"

.

Ten minutes past and it was uneventful, Otto was conversing with Lewes about Sanctuary.

Subaru sat with Beatrice, Rem, and Garfiel, he told them more stories from his place of origin, at some point, Rem came in close and leaned on him, resting her head on his shoulder, he didn't mind, though he got a death glare from Ram and Garfiel looked surprised.

.

Twenty minutes in, still nothing, Ram had already left to check on Roswaal and Lewes went to take care of some things.

Otto was laying on a nearby tree, talking with the wild animals.

Garfiel was talking with Rem, most likely about Ram.

Subaru and Beatrice were now looking at the stars, trying to see if he could find some constellations that he was familiar with, but sadly, there were none.

"You know Beako, my parents named me after a star or is it a constellation..."  
"Subaru is a constellation, I suppose?"  
"My parents were always pretty creative when it came to finding names..."  
"I wonder how Subaru's parents look like, I suppose..."

When he heard her say he suddenly got sad, Beatrice noticed this and looks towards him, "Did Betty say something wrong?"

"No... haah, it's just, I really do miss my parents, don't think I'll see them for a long while... I hope their doing fine"

"Seeing that their your parents, they're probably struggling with everyday life, I suppose"

.

Thirty minutes in, everyone was gathered, waiting.

"Does, it usually take this long?"

"Well, no werns taken it recently actually, so we got nothin to compare the time with"

"The length of the first trial depends on how much regret you have for something you have done in your past, I suppose, the more regret, the harder it would be to accept and thus, the longer it takes to complete the trials"

They waited a bit longer until suddenly, the lights started flickering, everyone was taken by surprise, well all but Subaru that is.

"Um, is that supposed to happen?"

"No! Them lights supposed to turn on the whole time!"

"The trials malfunctioning?! I wonder"

"Then that's bad!"

Without warning, Subaru dashed forward and plunged straight into the tomb. They all, with the exception of Beatrice tried to grab him, but they were too slow, he had already jumped in.

.

"It's no use, I suppose"

Everyone was panicking as they looked at Beatrice, "Had you restrained him, he would have just used Shamak and got in any way..."

Beatrice walks up to the tomb and looks down, "Good luck with the trials, I suppose" She said under her breath, no one heard her.

* * *

"Emilia! You alright?"

Subaru called out as he entered the dark and dusty tomb, it was dark but the moonlight that fell on the tomb made the interior barely visible. Grey stone walls and dark hallway, now that he got a good look at it, it was very spacious. He continued down the hallway until he reached a chamber, inside, he saw a slumbering Emilia.

He runs up to her, but then...

 _First, face your regretful past..._

He heard a voice say, it was his voice, the next thing he knew he dropped to the floor and blacked out.

 _ **...**_

 _ ***Bzzzzz... Bzzzzz... Bzz- Smack***_

He reflexively slammed his arm on the alarm clock on the table beside his bed. He grabbed his sheets and pulls them over him, going back to sleep.

.

...

.

"Wait a minute... **EMILIA**!"

He sprung back up, and surveyed the room he was currently in, he expected himself to be in the trial room but instead, he was in a different room, a rather familiar room.

"M-My room?"

He is suddenly standing in his old bedroom, confused he started looking around the room, opening drawers, looking at the cover of books, closing and opening closet doors.

"Was... that all just... No this is the trial, isn't it... It has to be..."

He was startled for a moment, he thought for a second there that all he's been through was just a dream, he opened up his shirt and looked at his chest, several scars were present, "Those were definitely not dreams..."

He took another good look around the room and saw that it was in shambles, "Man... I never did try to clean my room... might as well do it for once..."

After giving that remark to himself, he started tidying up his room, folding the sheets, stacking up his Mangas and Light Novels, picking up clothes from the floor and putting them in his usually empty laundry basket.

Having finished that he did some stretches, even though he didn't feel sleepy, it was just a habit of doing it every morning with the villagers. As he was doing his stretches, he thought about what to do.

"Accept or reject something... then that means..."

He heard a sigh from the other side of his door, and then a knock. He was suddenly all tensed up, "C-Come in!" he said.

From behind the door he heard a light gasp, "So you decided to finally get up on time, well looks like we won't have fun this morning..." the doorknob turned and in came a man, about half a head taller than Subaru, he wore glasses and had an almost identical hairstyle to him, he looked extremely fit and it seems like he was missing a shirt.

"Hey... Dad..."

"I was hoping to wrestle you out of bed bu... W-What!" As he entered the room, his mouth dropped down, never has he saw Subaru's room clean in the morning, his bed was made and his laundry basket was filled.

"D-Did you a-actually..."

"Geez, yeah I cleaned my room, so what? Man, dad go get a shirt, is mom downstairs? I'm gonna go eat breakfast okay?"

"ah...e...a..."

Giving his stunned father a pat on the shoulders, he left the room and walked down the hallway, his mom came up from the stairs and smiled at him, "You finally woke up on your own, I'm proud of you Subaru, breakfast is ready if you want to bring it up to your room"

A woman, with long brown hair, greeted him. She had sharp eyes, they were what you can describe as an evil gaze, though deep in her head, he wasn't really thinking about anything in particular.

"Yeah thanks, mom, I'll have breakfast at the table" he went down the stairs, his mother watches him in amazement as he trots down the steps, she looks to the hallway and sees her husband staring at her direction, his face should panic and fear.

"Something wrong dear?"

"Naoko, come look at this now!"

.

He heard muffled screams from the top floor as he entered the kitchen. He took out a bottle of mayonnaise from the fridge that was labeled S and sat down at the dining table.

"It makes no sense why you haven't given up on me..."

He looks straight at the mayonnaise bottle and opens the cap, "It's been too long my white maiden..." he takes a sip on the bottle and savors the taste.

"I... can't believe it... Rem's mayo is better..."

Suddenly he heard strong footsteps coming from the stairs, from the door frame appeared his parents, looking at him with terrified eyes, "S-Subaru..."

"Yeah, what is it?" he drank a glass of water.

"Y-Your not... considering suicide are you.. son?"

 _ **PPPFFFTTT**_

He spat out the water in his mouth and turned to his parents, "Is that the conclusion you ended up with!? Come on dad, I just cleaned my room, what's the big deal, if anything, you should be filled with happy thoughts, not... suicide..."

He got up from his chair and grabbed a cloth from the kitchen drawer, he went over to the table and cleaned up the water he spilled from his mouth. His parents just stared at him awestruck, they were utterly confused at what had happened to their son.

"If you stay like that, your breakfast is gonna get cold ya know?"

Snapping out of their trance, they approached him slowly, sitting down on their respective seats on the dining table and ate their breakfast.

.

They have finished eating breakfast and Subaru was doing the dishes, something he has never done in a long time, "Hah, when was the last time you did the dishes, six years ago? Surprised you still remember how to do it!"

They had a little laugh, "Yeah, last time I did them was when I still thought my life was worth something..."

"Huh? I've been meaning to ask this, though never got the chance... why did you suddenly shut yourself away that day, I mean nothing really happened, not that I can think of anyway..."

"Dad... let's go for a walk, not really comfortable talking about that here"

He voices his request as he finishes with the last of the dishes, his dad nods and goes off to wear something more appropriate, Subaru went to his own room and does the same, he just noticed that he was on his pajamas.

After a few minutes they left the house, it was a windy day and the autumn leaves were falling, "So, talk to me"

Subaru stopped in his tracks and looked down and said with a firm voice, "Why do you still love me..."

.

.

.

.

Silence invaded for a few minutes, "I don't think I-"

"You heard it loud and clear dad, but just in case..." He looks at him in the eye, "Why do you still love me..."

"That's a silly question, Subaru..."

Subaru walked over to a wall and leaned on it, "I've enclosed myself, distanced myself from everyone, cramped myself in my room, skipped school, wasted away doing nothing productive... I wanted you to hate me... so that when I do something wrong, you wouldn't be disappointed, so that when I make a mistake, no one will say, Oh but isn't that Kenichi's son? I tried my best, so why didn't you just leave me, why are you and mom still holding on to this piece of trash, this... worthless piece of trash..." his voice was a little bit shaky, tears now forming in the corner of his eyes.

"Huh, well if your gonna want to make me hate you your gonna have to try a lot harder than that, say burn down the whole city while killing half the civilians, do that and I might just feel a little hatred for you"

"That's insane, no ones got the guts to do that!"

"And I'm telling you that what you told me was also insane, hehe"

He sighs and wipes the tears away from his eyes, "Hah, it must be a pain in the ass being a parent, huh..."

"Especially when my son acts the way he acts, haha"

Subaru laughed with him, he got off from the wall and approached his dad, he gave him a strong hug, "I love you dad..."

"Right back at you son" He was going to embrace him but suddenly Subaru slid down and his arms missed him.

"I know that trap, I can learn from my mistakes you know"

"Hahaha, you got me"

.

They continued walking, chatting away, throughout their walk, they only saw one other person, it was an older man, an acquaintance of his dad, out of all the people he knew from his neighborhood, this person was the one that he was most familiar with, other than his parents.

They talked a bit, him giving Subaru a short story of how his father was when he was younger, they waved to him as they entered the local park.

"So, Subaru... what made you want to change?"

He looked up at the early morning sky, very faint stars from the previous night can be seen, "Well, you could say that I met some people who've changed my life..."

"Huuh, has my son met his woman yet!? Hey, If she's from your school, I might have her address"  
"Shut it, dad... seriously, you're already married, why do you need email addresses of high school girls?"  
"You never know when you might need some help, and the more people you know the more help you can get, simple"  
"No fair using that excuse... they're not from school anyway..."

"So? Who's this special person?"

"People, not just one person... I've met someone that gave my life a goal to strive for, a person I want to help achieve their dream, I've met someone that gave my life value to take pride in, that person would stay by my side, regardless of how worthless I am, and I met someone that gave my life a reason, a person that needed me more than anything... pretty complicated relationships actually..."

(Note: He's referring to Emilia, Rem, and Betty in that order)

"Tight spot, well that's your own business so I shouldn't really interfere with that..."

.

Subaru was in front of his house, his dad had gone to walk a little longer so this left him and his mom in the house. He walked in and went to the kitchen, "You know, it's not nice taking someone else's mayo bottle, you know?"

His mother was beside the fridge, holding a bottle labeled K, they each had their own set of bottles, though his mom had finished hers. "And where have you been?" Completely ignoring his statement she asked him this while still sucking out the contents of the mayonnaise bottle.

"Been with dad outside, talked about some stuff, also met 'that' guy during our walk..."

He went over to the fridge and grabbed his own bottle of mayonnaise and finished it in one go, "And that's number seven hundred and seventy-seven!" He slams it on the table.

"Congratulations Subaru, oh, this reminds me of the time your dad got four sevens, good times..."

"Heh, his love for mayo is on a whole different level"

Subaru's parents, just like him, have an attachment to mayonnaise, though Subaru has been nicknamed the mayonnaise menace, his parents would be dubbed, the mayonnaise monster. Their love for mayonnaise is so great it's almost terrifying.

"Hey mom, do you know where my school uniform is?"  
"Yeah but I'm not gonna tell you where it is, your planning on burning it right!"  
"What? No, I'm thinking about going to school, it's been about a year and I think it's time I made a comeback"

She rushes to him and grabs his shoulders, "Are you feeling alright, did your dad hit your head too hard or something while you were out?!"

"Ugh, no... I just suddenly feel like going to school, you know? Nothing to worry about..."  
"Oh... alright then..."

They went up to his room and she opened up his closet, from deep within she pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of pants, she gave them to him and left the room to allow him to change.

.

"Hmm, not exactly nostalgic..." he murmured to himself as he looks at the mirror, he had the dark blue t-shirt on with a red tie, it was a classic school uniform so there's not much to describe.

He got out of his room and went downstairs, where he found his mom, wearing a coat and holding onto her purse, it seemed like she was waiting for him, "You going somewhere?"

"Of course, I'll be accompanying you part-way because I've run out of mayo"  
"Ugh... right then, better get going..."

He set off for school with his mom accompanying him, no one was outside, even for an afternoon on a weekday, it was pretty scarce.

"It's been a while since we've walked like this, Subaru"  
"Really, I kinda feel like we do it pretty often when I'm gone to the convenience store"  
"Yeah... but you always go at night, don't you?"

He always did go at night, he wanted to avoid too much attention so it would be the best choice. "So, did your conversation with dad make want to go to school?"

"Hmm, only a part of it I guess... our long talk kinda got me thinking about my ridiculous thoughts back then"

"Oh, then you decided to act less like dad right?"  
"Uh... yeah I guess..."  
"You've always thought that if you did you wouldn't disappoint us right?"

"Yeah... W-Wait... how did..."

Subaru stops in his tracks, his mom looks back, "I'm not sure if you know Subaru, but mom has been keeping a very watchful eye on you, all the time actually"

"..."

"Even though I kept my eye on you, it seemed like I couldn't do anything to avoid it, though it looks like someone did something that we couldn't do to you, so I'm really happy, I really should thank them..."

"Huuh... yeah their great people, kind of a waste that they helped me..."  
"Even though, you're not just going to throw them away cause your not worthy are you?"  
"Definitely not, haha... if I'm not worthy of them, I'll just raise my worth..."

They continued walking, his mom was now looking at him, "Huuh, you really are his son..."

"Am I really completely his son?"

"Well half of you came from me, so your half his son and half mine. If you were completely him then your mom's head would be spinning round"  
"Let's not talk about that..."

.

They went on, the convenience store was now in sight, "Ok this is mom's stop, will you be alright? Not gonna do anything crazy to yourself right?"

"Nope, can't go doing things like that when I just left my room..."  
"Huuh, I see then, good luck!" She turns around and goes down her path towards the convenience store, Subaru's destination was the other side so this is where they part ways, this was his last goodbye, and it was going to be a really long one.

"... Hey Mom!"

She stops and turns to face him, her facing seemed to be saying 'What?', the picture of his mother, he burnt it into his eyelids so that he would never forget her.

"I might not be back for a long while... I'm going to a real far place and I can't really promise if anything bad is not going to happen... it's just, I didn't want to worry you and dad so much..."

She walks up to him, "It's alright Subaru, mom can see that it's really hard to word it out so you don't need to, I already know what it means, I am your mother after all"

"Heh... I wish I had gone out earlier..."  
"It doesn't matter whether you went out years ago, now or out years later, as long as you smile in the end, it doesn't really matter right? It's the end, the result that matters"

"..."

He was struck with the sudden realization, she's right, that was how Subaru was doing it this whole time, he suffered at the beginning, suffered part-way, but in the end, he was able to reach the results he wanted, he was able to smile and laugh with everyone.

"Oh, one more thing..." She walks up to him and gives him a big hug, "Can't hug you when your far away so I'll do it now"

Tears were forming in his eyes as he returned the hug, this was the last they would see of each other, for a very, very long time.

"I'm pathetic crying like this..." he said while releasing his mother.

"If crying is pathetic, then everyone would be since all baby's cry ya know?"

He waved his hands high in the air as he said his final goodbye, somewhere on a building, a figure was watching him, shadows leaked from its body as the world slowly fades away.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Another biggish chapter, don't know why but it was easy to make so I finished it early. I've decided to update systematically, one chapter for this and one chapter for warlock, I'll try at least one chapter from each in a week. HYPE!**

 **Leave some reviews, why not?**

 **Upload speeds may differ, hope you don't mind...**


	6. Chapter 6: Crying isn't pathetic

**Chapter 6: Crying isn't pathetic**

He entered the school building, it was empty, the afternoon sun shone through the many windows in the hallway. It's been almost a year since he regularly came to school, normally he'd only attend for the test's and when results are announced, such a slothful person he was.

"I wasn't a complete shut-in though if I was, I probably wouldn't have been transported into another world... or maybe I would have been..."

He walks through the hallways and stops at the front of his classroom door, he knew someone was on the other side. He opened the door and was greeted by an empty classroom, no one was there... no one but Echidna.

"Not sure what you were mumbling outside, though it sounded quite interesting, this place as well. I didn't expect you to finish it that fast"

"I've already had the answer to my past, there's wasn't much left to do but say goodbye.."  
"Haah, well that's not fair you know, and just so know, your goodbye to them was only within the trial, so in reality..."  
"Yeah, I thought so, even though, as long as I had a memory of saying goodbye, then I'm good..."

He puts his bag down and faces Echidna, she was wearing a typical schoolgirl uniform with a short skirt and the same jacket Subaru was wearing. Subaru walks up to the table next to her and stares at her.

"Hmm... do I look too good in this?"

He smacks his hands on the table, the sound echoed throughout the empty room, "Who the hell is 'They' and why haven't they arrived even after four-hundred years! Do you know how long Beako had to wait!"

He screams at her, his voice was laced with anger and hatred, the look on his face was exaggerated because of his eyes, he looked like he could burst at any second.

"So, it seems you have grown quite close to Beatrice, you are his contractor so that is natural... now to answer your question... They... doesn't exist..."

That sentence was like a shockwave as the pointlessness of the contract was revealed, Subaru was left in shocked, all this time, Beatrice wasn't waiting for 'They'... she was waiting for no one...

"W-What... the hell! Then what was the point of telling her to wait for 'They'! Do you know how god damn broken she could have been if I didn't get her out of there!"  
"Hmm, of course, that would be the first thing that came to your mind, but see here... I am the Witch of Greed, am I not?"  
"Yeah, and what the hell does this have to do with that?"  
"Contracts can be made for no reason, though as a person who has a thirst for knowledge, everything I do has their reasons..."

"Then what! What good reason would there be in locking a little girl in a library, telling her to wait for someone that's never going to come!"  
"That's where your wrong..."  
"Huh...?"

She gets off the table she was sitting on and pulls out a chair and puts it so that she is directly opposite of Subaru, "Someone did come... you did..."

"..."

"That... makes... **no FREAKING SENSE!"**

"Then let me clarify more... They doesn't exist... but that doesn't stop someone from believing that they do exist, am I wrong?"

It suddenly struck him, he was dealing with a witch, one that had an insurmountable amount of knowledge, If anyone could make something meaningless seem meaningful deep inside, it would be her.

"As long as Beatrice saw them as 'They'... they are 'They'... you see, before contracting Beatrice to protect the Forbidden Archive, she had suffered an extreme loss, it could have broken her beyond compare, she lost her one true friend... do you think she would be able to handle that?"

"a...h..."

"She lost her dearest friend, there was a threat that was befalling on Sanctuary and me in particular, her friend had volunteered in protecting Sanctuary, and thus the Barrier was established, though in exchange she sacrificed her life... Beatrice needed someone to cover up that loss... and the only way to do it would be to have complete trust in someone else so that they could cover up the hole that was formed four-hundred years ago... that was ultimately the result I was going for... now that you know, what will you do?"

He was left speechless, how could he forget that he was messing with the Witch of Greed, she knew Beatrice better than him and she was technically her mother, and he learnt that it would take a hell lot for a parent to do anything thats actually bad to their child, he learnt that from his trial.

He sat back down, he was utterly defeated by Echidna's reasoning, "e... ug... haah, fine you win, that was... actually pretty smart, But still isn't there like, a better way to do it, I mean she waited four-hundred years you know!"

"Well you should know how Betty is, there was no other way..."

"Now that I think about... your acting quite a lot like Roswaal, taking these huge risks..."  
"Roswaal?"  
"Hmm? Yeah, do you know him? He wears a clown outfit, he's a good magician, has blue and yellow eyes"  
"Um... No, must be a different Roswaal..."

He looked into the room for a while and saw that outside the window, the world was slowly fading away.

"So, does that mean the first Trial's done?"  
"Oh yes, but before I let you go, is there anything else you'd like to know?"  
"Nope, kinda in a hurry, left everyone back up hanging, maybe next time?"  
"Oh well, see you then"

He vanished the leaving behind the dying world, Echidna was still there and so was a shadow, they conversed about the boy that just left but he'll never find out about it.

Subaru opens his eyes. The first thing he feels is the sensation of something dusty inside his mouth. The second Subaru registers the spit and gravel built up in his mouth, he forcefully spits it out and gets his body upright.

"Ugh..."

He got up from the floor, he looked around, "The tomb... yeah I finished the trials... Emilia..."

He rubbed the drowsiness from his eyes and went forward and found Emilia laying beside the wall, it seemed like she was asleep, Subaru was relieved but it only lasted a second, the soonest he saw her expression he panicked.

Her face was twisted in agony, sweat was forming on her forehead. She was mumbling something incomprehensible. Only her face seemed to show her suffering, her arms and legs were rigid. Emilia was currently undergoing the first trial.

He should just wait it out, shouldn't he? If he stops her now, she wouldn't be able to finish but... "Man I can't not do something when your face shows that much pain"

He walks up to Emilia and crouches beside her, he places his hand on her forehead to wipe away the sweat but as his fingers made contact.

 **"HKK-"**

Emilia suddenly started shaking, her once idle limbs were now convulsing, Subaru grabbed ahold of her trembling body and embraced it strongly.

"Emilia! Snap out of it... Emilia!"

* * *

She was running around in the snow, well, she was running away, everyone around was leering at her. "Your fault," they all said.

She kept on running, not understanding what they meant, nothing seems off, what did she do? All she did was take a walk outside and everyone was angry at her.

The air grew colder, she could feel her limbs starting to stiffen from the sheer cold, as she ran through the field, everything behind her started turning white, it wasn't snowing heavily, but frost was just appearing everywhere... no, it wasn't just frost, it was a thick layer of ice, the whole forest was freezing over.

.

She tripped over a large tree root and fell head first into the snow, her skin was starting to turn into a very pale blue, her face was sore as the ground was harder than it felt like it was. Her vision started to blur as she shivered beside the enormous tree.

In front of her, a small cat appeared, it floated towards her and puts its paw on her forehead, "Sleep, my daughter..." She couldn't feel her feet anymore, they were already encased in ice, she couldn't feel her legs they were starting to freeze, she looks at the floating cat and calls out to it.

"No... P-Puck... h-he..."

She didn't utter any more than that, not because she couldn't, it's because who she was calling to had already vanished, he was no longer there, instead a woman was in front of her, she wore a white cloth over her body, calling her beautiful would be an understatement, she was seemingly unaffected by the cold. Emilia could no longer look so she closes her eyes.

 _"EMILIA!"_

She heard someone calling her...

* * *

"Get a hold of yourself, Emilia!"

While calling her name he tries to shake her awake, it went on for about a minute until the convulsions slowly died out and her body settles down.

"S-Sub... baru?"

"Yeah, it's me Natuski Subaru, do you remember me? You didn't forget anything important, did you!? You still know who everyone else is? Any memory loss?"  
"Uh... no silly, I just..."

She gets up slowly and looks around, "This is... I took the trials... yeah... Hk... no... I didn't... I... no..."

She starts shaking uncontrollably, clutching her head, crying. Subaru grabs her again, pulling her in for a tight embrace.

"Hey, Emilia!"  
"No... it wasn't... no! P-Puck... he... helps me... DAD!"  
"Emilia, Calm down! It's over!"

.

He let her cry on his shoulders, pleading to the spirit that was not present. It persisted for about two more minutes until she just fell asleep due to exhaustion. Subaru picked her up, he couldn't help but worry about her.

"Must be some past you got there Emilia..."

He carried her out of the tomb as she was asleep, the second the others heard his footsteps they rushed over to see if the two were alright.

"Su-boy?" Lewes calls down.

He appears from the shadows and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him, though they became worried when they saw Emilia seemingly unconscious on Subaru's arms, though they calmed down when he said she was just asleep.

* * *

After Subaru came out of the tomb with Emilia, they immediately went to Lewes's house to let Emilia rest, Ram came out of the room that Emilia was sleeping in, she was left in charge to take care of her.

"Emilia-sama is sound asleep... now on to more pressing matters"

She shifts her gaze over to Subaru, rather, everyone did.

"Hmm, well one thing's for sure, Emilia didn't pass the trials and it seems like she had a hard time dealing with it, maybe give her some time and she'll break through... ah, sorry for using your house again Lewes-san, it must be troubling for you..."

"Nah, don't ya worry bout causing trouble, Su-boy, she's doin them Trials fer our selfish need's anyway"  
"Guess granny's right"

.

They were currently in the living room Lewes's house, her house was rather small for one who takes the role as representative, it only had three rooms, a bedroom, living room and one dedicated as a library. Though it may be smaller than expected, it was quite alright for Lewes.

"So Natsuki-san, what happened?" Otto raised his hand and asked. They all sat around the table before Subaru told them about what happened.

"Ok... well let's see, I didn't see anything too unusual in the tomb... the most out of place thing was Emilia's trembling when I woke her up, haah, probably not the best idea though I couldn't stand the face she was making, so full of agony..."  
"But, Subaru-kun you took about thirty minutes in the trials, did it take you that long to wake up Emilia-sama?"  
"Thirty minutes? So I was out for that long... well, the moment I saw Emilia I was pulled in to take the trials as well, had to see my past too, though when I woke up I was fine... that was pretty much it"

They all took in the information Subaru had given but suddenly...

 **"YOU TOOK THE TRIALS!"** They all screamed at his face, all but Beatrice.

"Eh? Yeah, I didn't really have a choice... I just fell to the floor and was dragged in, I was able to talk to the witch and grab bits of info from her though"

"T-The witch?"

"Yep, asked her a bit about Sanctuary and about the great mabeasts, then I was sent out"

He did ask that to Echidna, just not during the trials, he decided to fake it anyway as to not cause problems later on.

"So, what did Subaru-kun see in his trials?" Rem asked.

"Hmm... well that would be... the last time I saw my parents..."

He sighed as he said this in a sad tone... a really sad tone, though that was intentional, he wanted to hide the fact that he beat the trial as he had a feeling that everyone knowing that would probably lower the chances of Emilia passing it as she may feel like she isn't needed.

Hearing the tone of his voice, everyone else refrained from asking him about it further, although, Beatrice could sense that he wasn't really sad so she knew he was faking it.

* * *

They all went to their own respective bedrooms and they called it a night, Subaru went to sleep in the cathedral, inside, there are only two places to sleep, there was one room with a bed then there was the hall where everyone else sleep on mattresses, the villagers had left the room for Subaru to sleep in, though he didn't really want to take it all for himself, Beatrice urged him so he reluctantly accepts.

 _(Not sure if a cathedral actually has bedrooms, it probably doesn't but I really needed one for this next scene)_

Subaru went to his room and laid down on his bed after cheering up some of the villagers, he looked through the window out into the night sky, it was hard to see everything else outside, there were not outdoor lightings beside the moon. He laid there as he plotted his next plan.

While he was gazing at the star-filled sky, Beatrice opens the door and walks in. She approaches the bed and sits on the edge not quite ready to sleep yet, just as Subaru suspected.

"Subaru... how was the trial, I suppose?" She asks him, giving a curious look.

He knew that she would ask this, she knew beforehand that he would take the trials, that's why she didn't stop him and why she wasn't surprised when he told that to everyone.

"Hmm, well..." He got up and sat beside Beatrice, "I passed it... I got to say my goodbyes to them, haah... though it doesn't really help that it wasn't a real goodbye... either way I'm glad I got to see them one last time..."

"Was it hard, I suppose? You took quite a while to finish your trial"

"It was sad but hard...? Not really, I was able to get through it quickly, the main reason why I took some time was probably because of my discussion with Echidna..."

Beatrice looks over to him, "Discussion... about what, I suppose?"

"About... your previous contract..." He said it in a slightly angry voice. Beatrice looked down when he said it.

"What about the contract..."  
"Beako... 'They' never existed..."  
"!... W-What..."  
"When Echidna told you to wait for 'They', she wasn't talking about anyone in particular..."  
"B-Betty doesn't understand, I suppose..."

She looks at him with a confused yet frightened face.

"Haah, those four-hundred years of waiting... no one was coming..."

"Though, she did tell me this... 'They' may not exist, but that doesn't stop someone from thinking they do... she told me that your 'They' would be anyone who you deemed worthy as being 'They'... I got really mad cause she could have at least told you that..."  
"..."

She was silent for a whole minute, deep inside she was thinking about all those people she rejected, any of them, any of them could have brought her out, but she didn't let them, she had the power to get out, but she didn't use it.

"Though I'm glad..."  
"Huh?"  
"I'm glad Beako chose me... it makes me feel special, you told me that countless people tried to contact you... in the end you chose me... make's me really happy inside you know"

He looks over at her and gives her a warm smile. She was at a loss for words as they looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds.

Beatrice was thinking about all the other people who wanted to form a contract with her, if she did it back then she wouldn't have to suffer the long four-hundred-year wait, though would she get this? This warm smile that was meant for her? No, probably not, this fact made her happy, happy that she waited four-hundred years for him, happy that she chose him and not someone else.

"B-Betty is glad too... I suppose..."

She looks away blushing slightly, hidden from Subaru's view was a sweet smile, it was a genuine and happy one. Suddenly Subaru picks up Beatrice and sits her on his lap, it confused Beatrice for a moment.

"Beako is cute when she smiles..."  
"W-What are you talking-"  
"Though there was something Echidna told me that got me worried..."  
"H-Huh...? What... what is it, I suppose?"

He readied himself before opening his mouth, he's got to be smart with this, if she gets too uncomfortable he'd have to pull back immediately, so he took a deep breath and...

"She told me that... you lost a good friend in the past"

She started to tremble slightly, Subaru felt it and slowly puts his arms around her.

"She said that... there was a threat and in order to protect Sanctuary... she sacrificed herself for the barrier..."

"That would kinda explain why you were kinda nervous around Lewes-san... she must've looked like your friend back then..."

"If I was put in that position... I would probably think 'If only I was stronger, then she didn't have to sacrifice herself'... heck, something like that actually happened before... though it was in a loop..."  
"... ... ..."

 _(That loop would be, Known by no one but them, my second fic)_

Her trembling has become more noticeable his arms were around her waist and he was practically hugging her... but then her trembling stopped, she pushed his arms off and looks away.

"If your trying to make Betty cry, it won't work, I suppose!" She said angrily.

Subaru was surprised and a little bit relieved, he expected her to either fall for the trap or just shut him up and leave the room. Seeing that neither happened he decided to think of something so that they could continue.

"Ugh...! Can't you see I just want to get close and hug Beako, is that too much to ask!"

After shouting this silently, Beatrice was both shocked and surprised, "H-Huh, what...!? I-If... If you want to hold on to Betty... then just go ahead and do it... I suppose..." She said nervously, blushing a bit.

He sighs and wraps her arms around her, putting his chin on her head, she allowed it. It went on for a while until Subaru suddenly leaned to the side of the bed.

"H... S-Subaru..."  
"You know Beako, _hwaah_... I wasn't trying to make you cry... but if you want to cry you should..."  
"Huh!? What nonsense are you..."  
"I cried while I was doing the trials... I told my mom that I was pathetic for crying and she told me... it's okay to cry, crying doesn't make you look pathetic... as long as you smile after it doesn't matter if you cry... haaaah... "

He yawns and tightens his grip around Beatrice, she was trembling a little bit, she tried to say him 'I'm not going to cry, I suppose!' but the words never reached her mouth, she clenches her fists and grits her teeth trying to hold it back but it didn't work, a few tears fell from her eyes.

Her arms gripping onto Subaru's tightly, "I'll... get you for this, I suppose!" She whispered. Though Subaru was already asleep, she could tell by his breath, she silently wept until she got tired and slept as well.

.

The door was open and from the outside, someone was peeking, it was Rem, she was listening in on their conversation, she can be seen pouting as she closed the door.

"Subaru-kun should be more careful... had anyone else seen that they would think you have a thing for little girls, hehe..."

She said this to no one in particular, everyone in the Cathedral was asleep, most of Sanctuary was, the only ones up was Rem, Ram, Roswaal, and Garfiel.

"When it's cheering someone up, Subaru-kun is the best at it... but... Rem will not lose to Beatrice-sama!"

She walks out of the cathedral putting on a competitive smile as she heads to her room that she was sharing with her sister.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I was conflicted when typing that Betty and Subaru scene, firstly I'm not sure how Betty would have reacted to it but I really wanted to do it, and secondly, Subaru's obviously gonna die and the reset point is before that so I'll have to do it again for the all the deaths at least for the last one, the repetitive usage of the scene will make it lose its essence.**

 **Though I hope you like it, it was in my mind ever since I started planning this fic.**

 **Just saying that there is a lack of Betty fics out there, we need some Betty fics people! Betty fics you hear me! Youtuberz is the only one with a Betty fic... wait... there is only one Betty fic out there!? What is this!? I'll have to do something about this!**

 **Anyway, nothing else to say but, Upload speeds may differ and that reviews are highly appreciated, gonna make Warlock chap 3 now so bye!**


	7. Chapter 7: The Suffering Begins

**Chapter 7: The Suffering Begins**

"Hmm... huh?"

Beatrice woke up to find herself in the same position as last night, wrapped in Subaru's arms. She tried to shake away from his embrace but it only made him tighten his grip slightly, then loosen up. If she moves he might wake up so she decides to just stay like this a little longer, but...

"Hkk! What are you doing there, I suppose?!" she squeals in a whispery voice when she notices Rem standing in the doorway, half-hiding herself.

"Huh?" she walks in the room "Rem is just performing her morning routine"

"Your morning routine consists of watching people while they sleep, I suppose!?"

She gives her an affirming nod, "Rem usually gazes at Subaru's sleeping face at night... but since Beatrice-sama started sleeping with him, Rem does it in the morning instead"

"Eh?! To say that so casually, you really are obsessed with him, I suppose"

"No, it's not like that, Subaru-kun has saved Rem, and as a result Rem has fallen for him, it's not much different from you Beatrice-sama"

She shakes her head vigorously while blushing, "W-What are you talking about, I suppose! It may be true that he saved me... B-But Betty doesn't... um..."

"Subaru-kun has explained to Rem how to interpret Beatrice-sama's statements"

"What? And how did he explain it, I suppose?"

"Simple, if Beatrice-sama's statement is about someone in particular, always reverse the meaning if they struggle to say it out"

Seeing that Beatrice was struggling to grasp the idea, she put a finger on her chin as she tries to think of an example. "I know, if Beatrice-sama says something like... 'Betty isn't cute', you interpret it as, 'Beatrice-sama is cute'. He said it's something... Suun... Deiry "

"You mean Tsundere?"

"Ah yes!"

"Okay I get it, I suppose... so what?"

"Beatrice-sama was going to say that she doesn't see Subaru-kun like that, so what Beatrice-sama really means is that she does see Subaru-kun like that, or at least something similar. It's why you didn't move when you woke up just now, it makes Rem jealous you know..."

Hearing this, Beatrice frantically shook her head, taking caution not to move too much.

"Your misunderstanding, I suppose! I-If... If Betty moves... Subaru will wake up so..."

"But if you don't want to wake him up, it means you want to stay like that, in other words, you like it!"

Rem gave her an 'I got you Look' as Beatrice panics, she shook violently out of Subaru's embrace, shouting to Rem, "No, it's not like that, I suppose!" as she left the room.

The loudness had woken up Subaru, "Ugh... hey, were's Beako running off to?"

"Oh, Beatrice-sama says she wanted to go get some fresh air so she left quickly, good morning Subaru-kun" She gave him a warm smile.

"Good morning Rem... is Emilia up by chance?"

"Hmm... no Emilia-sama is still asleep"  
"Right... I think she should rest today instead of taking the trial, gotta get your answer ready before facing it again..."  
"That sounds like a good idea, Subaru-kun"

* * *

They went out of the Cathedral, Rem went to do go take care of things with Ram while Subaru went to find Beatrice. He found her sitting on a bench under the shade of a tree, she was wearing her cloak, it covered most of her face, it was obvious that she wanted to avoid eye contact.

"Good morning Beako!"

He goes over and uncloaks her face. "Hey Beako, something bugging you?"

She quickly conceals her face again.

"It's none of your concern, I suppose!"  
"Hey now, I'm your contractor so if anything is bothering you, of course, it concerns me!"  
"Hrrrmmm... Betty doesn't want to talk about it at this moment, I suppose..." she looks away.

He sighs and shrugs his shoulders, "Okay then... I'm going to the stables, gotta wake up Otto"

"What do you need that sack of misfortune for, I wonder?"

"Oh, well I was hoping to check out the tomb to see if I really do have the qualifications, and someones gonna have to pull me out of there if Echidna decides to pull me in for another chat"

.

"Hey, Otto! Get up, we're going tomb raiding!"

He knocked on the carriage walls harshly, trying to wake the man sleeping inside.

"Ugh... tomb raiding? I'd rather not... besides wouldn't such things be done at nightfall rather than early in the morning, Natsuki-san?"

"Eh... I thought for sure you'd be willing to go"

"What do you guys think of me as?!"  
"A greedy merchant, I suppose"  
"Is that all?!"  
"Um... a walking sack of misfortune that happens to be a greedy merchant?"  
"GWAH?! Do you think of me that lowly!"

Ignoring the poor Otto's wailing, Subaru helped him up to his feet and gave him a cord of rope. He looked questioningly at it.

"Wait, are we actually... but wouldn't it be too dangerous, Natsuki-san!"

"Don't get your hopes up, I was just joking about the tomb raiding, but there were no traps in the tomb so it won't be dangerous if we did decide to do it"  
"Uh no, I wasn't referring to raiding in particular, if word got out that we had found some witch-related artifact..."  
"The Witch Cult will attack us, I suppose, any item related to the Witch of Envy in the hands of someone else will be taken by force..."

"What about a witch-related item that isn't connected to the Witch of Envy?"

"Um... They'll destroy it, along with the people who found it and the surrounding area, there was once a city that was destroyed single-handedly by the Sin Archbishop of Greed, Regulus Corneas, it was due to rumors of an artifact related to the Witch of... Sloth I think... or maybe it was Pride, not sure"

"A whole city..."

Subaru shrugs his shoulders, "Eh, nothing to worry about, just gonna confirm if I have the qualifications, and I need you to pull me out in case I faint or something"

"If you wanted someone to pull you out, wouldn't Rem-san be a better choice?"

"Nope, she probably wouldn't let me enter"

Having said that, they all set off for the tomb. They passed many houses, passed by many people, most of which seem to be in their late fifties, they gave them helpless looks, the place really did look depressing.

News that Emilia had failed the trial had spread across Sanctuary though no one really cared, it's like they expected her to fail, it was clearly shown on their faces.

"You don't have to show it, you know..." He said under his breath.

.

They had reached the tomb and Subaru was preparing to venture inside, he had Beatrice tug the rope to make sure it was secured, after that he starting to step in.

Slowly, he proceeded to descend deeper into the tomb, it was much different from last night, everything was much brighter now, the patterns chiseled into the walls of the stone hallway were clear and distinct.

"Hmm... nothing..."

He reached the bottom and he felt fine, no headache, no nausea, no falling to the floor and waking up in a grass field, it seems like he really does have the qualifications, could it be the 'Apostle of Greed' thing Echidna mentioned at the end of their first meeting.

"Hey, guys I'm not dreaming right?"

He yelled out loudly to the two people outside the tomb, his voice echoed through the stone hallway.

"No, I suppose!"

Having confirmed that he wasn't dreaming he decided to continue exploring the tomb, he kept on going forward until he reached a chamber, this was where he took the trials last night.

"Uhm... Natsuki-san the rope won't reach that far!" Otto shouted.

"It's okay! I can get out on my own now!" He replied back.

He went to the end of the chamber, there was a distinct section of the wall that felt pushed in, it most likely a door that would open when the trial was completed, and he guessed that the actual burial place or whatever would be in there.

Seeing that there is nothing else that grabbed his attention, he went back up.

"So? How did it go?"

"Yeah, mission accomplished, I felt normal when I got in so that means I must be accepted"

He took off the rope that was tied around his waist, "Okay, now onto more pressing matters, I'm gonna check on Emilia, see ya around!" and he dashed off.

* * *

He walks over to the house that Emilia slept in last house and knocked the door.

"Hey Emilia, you awake?"

"Uhum... yeah come in"

He opens the door and enters, inside, Rem was with her, she was doing Emilia's hair, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity as Puck usually does it as per their contract, with him now gone and Emilia having zero fashion sense, it was up to Rem to make her look presentable.

"So how are you feeling Emilia?"

"Oh, I'm feeling fine thank you, I'll take your's and Rem's advice and take the day off"

"Great... so let's look at this from a strategical point of view" He goes sits down on a chair near the table, "If we can find a way around the trials, then you don't have to take it"

"Eh, but won't that be like cheating? Subaru, we shouldn't cheat, Puck told me that it's a bad thing to do"

Rem giggled and Subaru sighed, "It's not exactly cheating... but if you say so, anyway, for now, let's about your past, if you discuss it with other people, it won't be so hard to accept it, yeah?"

"Yeah got it... my past huh..." she thought for a bit and a sad expression appeared on her face.

"Is it... too painful to talk about...?"  
"Uh, oh no, it's just... I'm confused... the past I was shown during the trials, it felt like... It really wasn't my past, I mean, I don't remember it very clearly, and the feeling it gave me was like... I was someone else, or those memories were made up, like a dream..."

Subaru listened to every word and came to the conclusion, "Maybe those were fake memories..."

"Fake memories?" Rem asked.

"Yeah fake memories, like they made up and forced into your brain, is there magic that can do that Rem?"

"As far as Rem's knowledge in magic goes, I have never heard of memory manipulation magic, Subaru-kun, perhaps it could be related to Gluttony"  
"Hmm, yeah it might, so then Emilia might have encountered him before, for now, let's start with the past you still know, like where did you live back when you were young?"

Rem had finished doing her hair and had taken another chair and sat at the edge of the bed with Emilia.

Emilia thought about her past for a while.

"When I was little... I lived in the Elior forest with Mother Fortuna, I call her that but she was actually my aunt. My dad and my mom had to do a lot of traveling so they were almost never home, they never told me why though... so Mother Fortuna took care of me for most of my life"

He remembered reading about sometimes when he went to the capital once, "I've read about it, and if I recall it was frozen quite a long time ago, maybe a hundred years before now, it must have been pretty cold there, right?"

"Actually, it was quite warm, there hasn't been snow there for the first seven years of my time there"

"Really... Wait?! Then that means your like, more than a hundred years old?" He asked her with a shocked expression. Rem wasn't really surprised as she already knew this.

"Pretty much, elves have suuuper long lifespans, but I'm only half so I don't get to live that long..."

Subaru started laughing slightly, this made Emilia frown, "Hey whats so funny?!"

"Sorry Emilia, haha, it's just that when older people find out about that they'll be so jealous of you, hahaha!"

"Huh?"

"I think Subaru-kun is right, Emilia-sama, when people grow into their old age, many yearn for youth again, Emilia-sama is older than most of us here but her beauty surpasses us all"

"Really, thanks..." she smiled happily.

"That would explain your archaic word choices... anyway, if you've lived for that long then that means you know what happened when the forest froze over right?"

She then gives a sad and confused look, "Actually I don't really remember, I think that was what my trial was about, I remember... it was snowing, the whole elf village froze, including me... that's about what I remember from my trial..."

She paused for a bit before continuing, "After that, I think Puck got me out of the ice and then we formed contract, we weren't able to free the rest from the ice, it didn't work, but then seven years later, Roswaal found us and we started living in the mansion"

Judging from how old she looks, people would get that she was around eighteen or nineteen, but in actuality she was above a hundred years old. But given the amount of time she was conscious, it was about fourteen years, her mentality would be equal to that of a middle schooler, it would explain her innocence.

"I see... so you're like Rem right? Roswaal found them after their village was destroyed and he took you in?"

"No, not quite, the moment he talked to us, Puck and him fought for almost the whooole day" She looks at the green crystal on her neck and smiles, "That is until Roswaal explained himself, he told us that he was looking for someone that was capable of becoming a royal candidate"

"And you just accepted it like that?"

"Well, not really... you remember what I said in the royal hall about wanting to bring equality to all..."  
"Yeah, that alone is a good enough reason to be King"  
"I know but... that was kinda like my secondary motive... the true reason why I wanted to be King is... a bit selfish actually..."

She had a guilty look on her face. Emilia being selfish? 'Impossible' Subaru thought.

"Can you tell us?"

"You see, the reason I wanted to be King... the King gets access to the royal store of the Dragon Volcaninca's blood, it is said to be able to cure any disease and regenerate lost land... and I wanted to use it... to free all the other elves that were frozen in Elior forest..."

She covered her face with her hands in shame as the other two looked at her shocked and dumbstruck. Subaru put his hand on her shoulder, she removed her hands and looks at him.

"Emilia, if your saying that's selfish then me fighting the cult and Rem venturing into the forest to stop the mabeast was also selfish" Rem nodded, "It's not selfish... actually, it's the exact opposite, it's selfless, there's no reason to be guilty for wanting to save someone"

She sighed, "I guess your right..."  
 _*Grumble*_

Before they could continue, Subaru's stomach rumbled, they all faced towards him, the two girls giggled, while Subaru clutched his stomach in embarrassment.

"Looks like Subaru-kun is hungry, we should stop here, Rem will prepare some food for everyone"  
"Okay, I'm looking forward to it!"

"Yes, please do," She said while happily leaving the house, the other two followed behind her.

* * *

Subaru was walking around with Emilia, they were looking for Beatrice. When Subaru split up with Otto, she was left behind, and she didn't say a word, she also knew where he was going so if she wanted to follow him she could, which leads to one conclusion...

"Looks like she went to explore Sanctuary a bit..."  
"Well, if I were Beatrice, I wouldn't want to venture out alone in the forest..."  
"Well, Beako is familiar with Sanctuary so there's no need to worry about her, she's strong too and... Argh! What am I thinking, she's just a little girl, I shouldn't be l-"

"Who are you calling a little girl, I suppose!"

From behind them, Beatrice appeared, she had her usual cold demeanor.

"Beako!" he yelled as he ran over to her, "You had me worried there for a second, where were you?"

"Hmph, you left Betty alone, I suppose. I went to accompany the green one to the stables  
"Oh, so you went to check on Patarasche? Haha, I knew you two would get along, Anyway, I'm hungry so let's go and eat"  
"Whatever, I suppose"

.

Grabbing the spirits hand, he dragged her over to where he could smell food and entered the building, it was a kitchen, a rather large one. Even though he was no good at cooking what so ever, he was still a servant so he decided to at least help out.

After helping out in the kitchen, they all ate, everyone but Roswaal and Ram was present at the outdoor dining area.

The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful, Subaru decided that he would use this time to get closer to Garfiel and Lewes since they both seem to have high authority in Sanctuary. Garfiel was usually busy, he would be off doing patrols every now and then but Lewes was relatively free for most of the time.

.

The next day was went by quick, Subaru went fishing with Otto in the morning, took a walk with Rem in the afternoon and then they all went to the tomb's entrance at night.

They all cheered Emilia on and waited hopefully, but she returned tear faced having failed the trials a second time.

They tried again the day after the next but the results were the same, it was clear that she wasn't gonna pass the trials anytime soon, but despite that, she wouldn't back down.

* * *

It has been four days since they have reached Sanctuary and with Emilia's constant failures it was evident that the villagers were starting to panic, they worry that they may never leave.

Subaru thought he'd do something about this.

.

"Heya Garfiel"

"Oh, 'S you, wadda ya want?"

The first thing he needs to do is to get Garfiel to move along with his plan, he knows Lewes will be ok with it but if Garfiel isn't then nothing will work out.

"Listen here, the hostages are starting to get rowdy and I can see a potential conflict arising soon between the locals and them, I say we let them go already, Emilia's already trapped in here anyway and it might put her at ease knowing that their safe"  
"Hmmm..."  
"And besides, if your gonna keep them here, I don't think your food stocks gonna suffice, we'll probably run out in a week"  
"Yeah, yeah, I got it... 'S fine with me, jus go talk ta Granny, she'll decide, tell er my amazing self's okay with it"

He leaps off into the forest as he finishes. That went much smoother than he originally thought, judging by his appearance and brute strength, one would say he's not the one to talk things out, though he was proven wrong. He expected him to hold firm and say something like, 'No uh, no ones leavin till the barriers down' or something like that.

Now that the main obstacle is down, he can proceed with the easy stuff, he's already got Roswaal's approval, now all he needs is Lewe's.

.

The talk with Lewes was short and brief, she quickly understood the situation and agreed to his solution. Now all that's left is to inform the villagers and start the preparations.

"Hey everyone, we're bringing you back home tomorrow!"

He shouted as he entered the Cathedral. Hearing him, the all burst cheering and celebrating, though it all died out quickly as they went to pack up and prepare the carriages.

"Uh... Subaru, whats happening?"  
"They all looked pretty gloomy a minute ago, did you do something Natsuki-san?"

Emilia and Otto asked him as they saw the villagers excitedly come in and out of the Cathedral.

"Oh, we're sending them home this afternoon, they were getting pretty homesick and with them out of the way you can take it easy and not worry about anything, Emilia"

"Oh... I'm sorry, I shouldn't take so long to finish the trials..."  
"Hah, it's okay Emilia, it's not easy facing your past"

.

After hours of preparations, they were finally ready to leave. Otto, Subaru, and Beatrice were to leave with the villagers and the merchants, while the rest stayed.

"Good luck with the trials Emilia!"

He yelled as he waved them goodbye. Lewes accompanied them till she hit the barrier and then she turned back. Though Subaru and Beatrice noticed something odd, the place where Lewes started losing consciousness was much farther away than was Garfiel first found them.

* * *

After the eight hour trip, they made it, Subaru and Beatrice split up with Otto and the others to visit the mansion. They passed through the front lawn, it was clean and watered, seems like Frederica was busy.

"Hello! We're home!"

His voice echoed through the countless halls, it was unlikely that they didn't hear him.

"..."  
"..."

"No reply, I suppose..."

"They're probably either asleep already or maybe they went for some midnight shopping... oh wait I think today is the day the servants check the shack on the mountains... Frederica must be on that... so then we can assume Petra's just asleep"  
"No problem with that, I suppose"

They went up the stairs to check on Petra, once they reached the top, Subaru felt a sudden chill run through his spine, it was like his body was like a warning that death was near.

"Something wrong, I suppose?"  
"...No, just got this weird feeling... must be the sile-"

Before he said anything else, Beatrice shoved him with her hands, he fell to the floor and hit his head quite hard.

"Hey why the-!"

He got up slowly and looked at the spirit... she was on the ground as well, she laid flat, and she was glowing brightly, he noticed something.

"B-Bea... ko..."

His eyes widened, his voice laced with fear and anger. Beatrice was starting to fade away, on her side a knife was impaled cutting straight through her dress, she gave a look of grief. He quickly scurried over to her but then he felt a strong gust of wind blow him to the side.

He felt a sharp pain in his stomach, he sat up and put his hand on the wound, it was wet, and a chunk of it was not there. His vision started to blur as he fell back to the ground, he landed on a pink blob, it was his insides, he started coughing out blood.

"GYAH!"

He heard the spirit yelp, he tried his best to keep his eyes open, but he saw that Beatrice was no longer there, only her cloak layed flat on the ground, no blood present, and surely no spirit either.

"Bea- _*cough*_ Beako!"

He forced his voice out to call for the spirit, but it was drowned out by his blood, his eyes started to close, his vision turning black, all he could hear was his dying heartbeat and...

"It's too bad I couldn't see her bowels... but I came back as promised and took yours..."

'No... who are you! I met you before, dammit brain remember!' He screamed internally to himself, whoever this was, they weren't going to let him die easily.

"I'll... kill you..." He said weakly before he died...

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Happy new years!**

 **This took a little longer than I expected, was busy since I'm now back to school and mocks are next month, great... Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, it pained me to write the last part but I had to put the idea.**

 **Probably going to make chap 8 before chap 3 of Warlock, I'll work on both of them at the same time, and I'll upload the one I finish fastest.**

 **I'm planning on making him loop about 3-5 times so there's gonna be a lot of chapters, it's just the beginning anyway...**

 **See ya later, Update speeds vary, 3 days - 2 weeks, but expect close to 5 days, k bye!**


	8. Chapter 8: Unforeseen Consequences

**Chapter 8: Unforeseen consequences**

"Ugh... _cough cough_ "

He woke up to a familiar dusty stone floor, he opens his eyes weakly, the feeling of getting stabbed right in the stomach was still fresh in his mind. Though the pain was no longer in existence, he still had the memory, that traumatic scream of his spirit, it made him want to kill whoever did it a thousand times, over and over again.

"Beako... wait, where... the tomb?"

He picked himself up, leaning on the stone wall, his head was still dizzy. He scanned the area, it was definitely he tomb, probably just after he finished the first trial.

"Day six... night six rather, an assassin attacks the mansion, and I don't know who they are... Petra and Frederica were probably dealt with before we got there... that's why no one answered..."

He furrowed his brows as he tries to think of a plan. If they were to fight, Subaru would no doubt lose, the assassin was able to handle Frederica so it's not likely that Rem would be able to beat her. Roswaal is injured so he's a no go, the best option would be to go against them with Beatrice, the least they could do is distract them while the others-

"Hk-"

"Huh?"

Lying beside him was Emilia who he momentarily forgot about, it was the same as last time, her face was twisted in pain, a memory you never had is hard to accept.

"Emilia..."

He shook her lightly and she instantly regained consciousness, a repeat of last time, she cried on and Subaru comforted her, they then went back up.

"Ah... Su... baru...?"

.

"Subaru-kun..."  
"What's wrong, I suppose?"

Rem gave a concerned look as she stared down the tomb. Beatrice walked up to her, sensing her unease.

"The scent... is stronger all of a sudden..."  
"..."

Before they could discuss any further, Subaru appeared out of the tomb, carrying a sleeping Emilia in his arms.

* * *

After they went to Lewes's house and had Ram set her down on the bed they went to the living room to discuss what happened inside the tomb.

"So, Natsuki-san..."

"Long story short, basically, I was able to take the first trial for some reason and I passed, it was quite easy but that's just me, Emilia, on the other hand, failed the trial cause I woke her up halfway..."

Everyone, aside from Beatrice, was surprised when they heard this, mostly Garfiel.

"Then we should confirm if the citizens of Sanctuary are able to leave"  
"No can do, there are three trials, I just finished the first trial, still two more to do, hmm... maybe I can finish it right now in one go..."

"That's not possible, I suppose, if two people take the trial at once, you can't proceed to the next, it's a given rule..."

"Well, that sucks... Anyway..." He got up from his seat and walks to the door, "There are things I need to think about so if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my leave..."

Rem and Beatrice were the next ones to leave, concerned about Subaru, they followed him, the others went on doing their own things.

* * *

He went out to the lake and sat down beside a tree, he had to formulate a plan, make a few excuses and do a few explanations as well. Thinking back on the moment, 'I came back as promised...', that's what the female voice said.

"So you actually did come back... just give me a break"

He realized it was Elsa that had attacked them, it only made him want to kill her even more, but he knew that it wasn't going to happen, he's too weak.

For Subaru, it's been about 3 months since he's seen her, but in actuality, its probably about half of that, that brutal strike she gave back at the loot house had almost fully healed, even so, he still had some leaking anger within him.

"There's something I need you guys to keep a secret," He said all of a sudden turning to face the forest path.

From the forest came Beatrice and Rem, he knew they'd come so he decided that he won't hide anything, he can't do this alone, he knows that now. They came up to him, they could tell he was serious, they sat down in front of him.

"You can trust Betty, I suppose"  
"Rem will do as you say, Subaru-kun"

A few minutes of silence and then, "In six days, the mansion's getting attacked by an assassin..."

They were both shocked hearing this, though Beatrice was able to understand quickly, 'he looped', that was the conclusion she came up with.

"I can't really explain how I know but-"

"Rem believes you..."  
"There is no reason for Betty to doubt you, I suppose..."

Seeing that they agreed just like that made him happy and relieved, these two have so much faith in him, It's almost scary to watch. He relaxed as he doesn't have to bear the pain of explaining the whole thing.

"Do you have a plan, I suppose?"

"Yeah... we probably won't be able to fight back without sustaining major injuries so I plan on evacuating everyone in the mansion before they attack..."

They both nodded, that seemed to be the safest plan.

"Ok then... we'll go back to the mansion, maybe in two days, I'll bring the villagers as well with Otto and Beako..."

"What about Rem?"  
"Well we can't leave Emilia alone and I don't want you getting hurt, okay"

She gave a dejected look but didn't mind as he basically said, 'I care about you'.

"Anyway, I can handle getting out, Rem, you take care of Emilia while I'm gone okay?"  
"Yes, Subaru-kun can count on Rem!"

It was already pretty late so Subaru decided to sleep and get an early start in the morning, he was fatigued, even though his body just woke up, his mind has spent a whole other day. He was in bed with Beatrice.

"Subaru, the blue maid had informed me that your scent had gone up, I suppose..."  
"Yeah... I had a feeling she would be able to sense it going up... so, how do I explain this..."  
"Is it because of your looping, I suppose?"

"I'm not completely sure, but it seems to increase each time I do it, so maybe...?"

"Does also have something to do with not being able to tell me more about looping, I suppose?"

"Haa... your getting really close to the borderline, Beako..."  
"Then I shall refrain from asking any more, I suppose"

* * *

The next morning he got up early to do some Radio Calisthenics with the villagers and he told them that he'll try and convince their captors to let them go which they replied with cheers. Surprisingly, things went differently, Roswaal was okay with it but he had ordered Ram to go with them, and Garfiel...

"They can leave... on one condition"

Unlike last time, Garfiel had put up one condition for letting the hostages go, as far as he remembers, nothing like that happened, was it triggered because he asked it earlier?

"Alright, let's hear it..."

"They can all leave if... yer promise not to take them trials..."

It was unexpected, all the villagers are able to leave on the cost that Subaru is unable to take the trials, it wasn't a problem, Emilia was the one who was supposed to take them, but why doesn't he want Subaru to take them?

"Hmm... I can accept that... though, can you tell me why you don't me to take the trials?"

"Ain't gonna let anyone but Emilia-sama passin the trials"  
"..."

Subaru stood there confused.

"Ya hear me? No one but the princess gets to take em"

"Right, right, I heard ya... so that's it right?" He nods in return.

"Ok then..." Subaru turned back to the Cathedral, "Hey Garfiel, do you have like... anything to say to your sister, I can like send a message if you want"

"W-What, uh, that... ah... hmm, urgh, jus... jus, tell er my amazing self's doin fine..."

"Right... see ya then"

* * *

The rest of the day was left preparing for their trip back, because he was busy helping the villagers pack and all, he wasn't able to talk to Emilia, so that might trigger another event so he stayed aware of his surroundings.

Later that night he took a walk around Sanctuary with Beatrice, it was pretty dark and there weren't many torches around, the only proper light source would be the moon. He was headed for the tomb, not because he wanted to challenge it though.

"Where ya think yer goin?"

Before them, Garfiel stood with his arms spread, he was blocking their path, he had a feeling Subaru was going to try something so he patrolled near the tomb in case he came.

"Well we were just going for a walk around Sanctuary, but I was hoping to bump into you here" they walked up to him, he stared at them fiercely, "Say I wanted to check out the tomb, you won't let me right?"

"Darn right! Ya forgot what I said this mornin, no one's takin it but the princess"

It made no sense, not that it bothered him too much, but if there was a higher chance for him to pass the trials instead of Emilia than obviously letting him take them in her place would be the logical reason.

"Yeah, I still remember... but, normally people would pick the option with higher chances, not the other way round, it doesn't make sense why you don't want me to take the trials, unless I've done something wrong, or you got something for Emilia..."

"What crap are you talking about!"

"But of course you don't, your eyes set on a certain maid with pink hair..."  
"A..."

Seeing that he was right, it only made less sense why he stopped him, unless, "Wait... Ram did tell me not to go into the tomb before... so did she talk you into it?"

"Nope, it's my free will"  
"It's the witch miasma, isn't it, I suppose"

"..."

His silence only confirmed the possibility Beatrice came up with, it all makes sense now, he did Return by death to right after taking the trials, it should have drenched his body in the Witch's stench.

The scent has brought Subaru many problems in the past, Rem attacking him in one of the mansion loops, The White Whale chasing them in another, the Witch Cult's attack, it was all because of that very smell, and now, the inability to take the trials.

"Did Rem tell you... or can you can smell it...?"  
"Are you doubting my amazing self's nose?"  
"No, it's not that, you should have noticed it when I came to Sanctuary..."

"Ya darn right I did, wasn too bad then, but now 'S exploding all over the place, right after ya took the **TRIAL** , not sure what you saw in there, but my amazing self's got a bad feelin about it"

He said 'Trial' in a rather cold way, it seems like him and Garfiel's terms are starting to lower, though it's nothing he can't fix. He crosses his arms as he stares at Subaru.

"Ain't gonna let some witch stinkin bastard going around doin the trials"

"Well, can't blame ya there... seems like there's nothing we can do, alright then Beako lets call it a night, we got what we came for..."

He walked away, dropping the thought of trying to convince Garfiel to let him through, as he is now, even Lewes might not be able to make him budge, he's like a stubborn child.

"What?! Your not gonna try and force yer way through?"  
"Why should I? It's not like I disagree with you, besides, I have faith that Emilia will pass the trials"

"That's what yall think..." He muttered.

"Right, goodnight then"

* * *

The next morning they prepared for their leave, it was the same as last time, nothing seemed off about Emilia, it seems Rem must have been able to comfort her in Subaru's place.

Lewes escorted them out to till they hit the barrier, still, it confused him, why was Garfiel able to pass the barrier, was it because he could resist it? Actually, he's Frederica's brother, so how was Frederica able to pass the barrier at all!

He turned over to Ram who, out of all the people here, knew the most about him, "Hey Ram, quick question, Frederica passed the barrier, doesn't that mean Garfiel can too?"

"It took you that long to notice... how idiotic Barusu"  
"So I'm guessing that was a yes?"

"Correct, Garf is indeed able to cross the Barrier with no problem, he is actually quarter-blooded... even though he can cross it, he wishes to stay, the reason I cannot tell you, it would be going to deep into someones privacy, feel free to ask anyone else for it if your that desperate, Barusu"

Garfiel made a lot more sense now, the title sheild of Sanctuary, he chose that title, he stayed in Sanctuary and protects the people until the day they can all go out.

.

They arrived at the mansion after their eight-hour drive and was greeted by Frederica.

"Subaru-sama... you have returned... earlier than I a had anticipated, has everything at Sanctuary been resolved?"

"Yeah, not just yet, you see, the villagers were taken as hostages and so we decided to free them first, it will put Emilia at ease as she takes the trials... and there are things I wanted to discuss with you"

"Right, I will answer your questions the best I can..."

Subaru and Beatrice went ahead inside the mansion, Ram then came out from her carriage and greeted Frederica.

"Hello, Frederica-sama"  
"It's nice to see you again, Ram"

"How was it at the Miload residence, is Clind-sama and Annerose-sama well?"

"Well, it's not much different from Master's mansion, Clind is fine and Annerose is doing well, always acting mature... reminds me of you"

They kept on conversing about the old days and went inside.

* * *

"What? I just got here, and you're telling me to leave!?"

"Hey, hey, calm down, it's not permanent, it's just for the week, I'm afraid something might happen so it's not safe for you to stay here..."

He started by trying to get Petra out for the week, out of everyone currently present, she was the easiest target, and with her out of the way, most of Subaru's worries will be dispelled.

Ram and Frederica were also in the room, originally he was going to say that Roswaal ordered them to leave but since Ram had come with them, that Idea was thrown away. Instead, he discussed with them about another potential Witch Cult attack, and with the recent occurrence of one, they thought it was likely.

"Petra, first comes your safety so do as Subaru-sama says"  
"But Subaru-sama can protect me, right Subaru-sama?"

"Haah... I want to say I could, but sadly, I could barely protect myself, so just go home for a while okay?"

She pouted angrily, but she relented. He couldn't think of a way to make Frederica go so he thought of trying to take Elsa on, four on one, the chances are pretty high considering they had two magic users, three if they took Subar as well.

As deadly as she is, everyone has their weaknesses, it seems like her weakness would be magic and stronger opponents, thus why she chose to fight Reinhard instead of killing the others first during their encounter at the Capital.

"Shall we begin Subaru-sama?"  
"Yep, I'm all ready..."

After Petra left, Ram went to do some cleaning while Subaru, Beatrice, and Frederica started their discussion about...

"It's about your brother, Garfiel..."

She was expecting more of a Sanctuary based question but she knew he would ask him sometime or later.

"But before that... do I smell funny to you? Please answer truthfully"

It was a weird question to ask, but seeing Beatrice and Subaru's seriousness, she knew they weren't joking around.

"Well you don't have to worry about honesty, everyone that has been Sanctuary previously is unable to tell a lie due to a contract... now about your smell, I can't really tell anything that's off, so no"

"Right then...now onto Garfiel, does he have some kind of, enhanced smelling compared to you, I mean your both siblings so there shouldn't be too much difference in your attributes... Garfiel sensed some... smell on me and he doesn't seem to like it, he doesn't trust me you can say"

"I see... while it's true that we are siblings, he is only my half-brother..."  
"..."

"You see... our mother wasn't the most fortunate woman in the world..."

Hearing the first part, it seems like he was stepped deep into one of Garfiel's secrets.

* * *

The doors of the pub opened and a woman walked in, in these parts she'll well known not only for her beauty but for her bloodlust, this was Elsa Greinhart.

"Elsa, your back! So what was it?"

A little girl got off one of the chairs and walked up to her, she had light cyan hair that was tied into a braid, she wore something similar to a funeral dress and had a cape attached to it.

"It seems like my contractor wants me to go in early, that elf again... this time I won't let her go easily..."

"Hey, mind if I come, it's really BORING here"

Together, these two are the assassination sisters, though they aren't blood-related, they are still close, normally doing their jobs together, helping one another when they're getting chased or something.

"Well, you failed your last mission so I'm not sure..."

"Awww, it wasn't my fault, it was that Onii-sans fault for being so dumb! If he didn't go to the forest to save Petra-chan and the others then my mission should have been finished!" She pouted angrily.

"Fufufu, very well then..."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Anime openings are addicting, I can't stop listening to them... no A/N today... I'll work hard on warlock k.**

 **Upload speeds may vary, 5 days to 2 weeks, see ya next time!**


	9. Chapter 9: Help

**Chapter 9: Help...**

"That's about it, after that she never returned..."  
"I see..."

After hearing the basics of Frederica's and Garfiel's backstory, the atmosphere turned somewhat gloomy. Their mother, Reisha Tinsel [Revealed in Arc5], was sold as a slave to various merchant's and thieve groups, in the end, Roswaal had saved her, and young Frederica, by sending them to Sanctuary, where Lewes became their guardian.

"A-Anyway... that answer's most of my questions already but there is only one last question..."

"If it is within my abilities, I will answer the most I can..."  
"The passage in Roswaal's office... who knows of it?"

She was surprised that he knows of it, she guessed that Beatrice had told him about it, since she could connect any door to the Forbidden Archive.

"The only ones that know about its existence are servants that have been in service for more than a year and Master Roswaal himself... may I ask why you wish to know this?"

"Haah, no particular reason, just that if an attack would happen, it'd be the obvious way out, if the enemy knows about it in advance that's game over for us..."

"I see..."

The explanation Subaru gave was very reasonable, it wasn't wrong to believe that he was the one to lead the subjugation of the Hakugei and the Witch Cult's Sloth.

"Oh, Frederica, I want you to stay on guard, I have a bad feeling something might happen... tell Ram as well, me and Beako's gonna check around for a while..."

"I will..."

They bowed to each other as they went their separate paths.

* * *

"Who's the assassin, I suppose?"

"Elsa Greinhart, the gut hunter... I've run into her while I was in the capital, she sliced up my stomach pretty bad back there but thanks to a certain someone, it's all better" He said while patting Beatrice.

"Bubby told me to do it, I suppose..."

"Yeah, yeah, but if you were given the chance, you'd probably do it anyway"

She wasn't sure to either disagree or stay silent, she wanted to divert the conversation away from that topic, so "Betty is tired, I suppose..."

"Haah, that's Beako for you... right, let me carry you..."  
"W-What, I didn't ask to be carried, I suppose!"

"But I want to carry you, so there" She grumbled in defeat as he carried her over his shoulders, they went over to the kitchen to help prepare dinner, despite Frederica insisting that they rather not, they still did.

They both went to eat, the two maids refused to eat as it was a policy that they eat after all guests have finished with their meals.

They continued patrolling the halls until Subaru said, "If we keep this up... I think I'll be too sleepy to even see her..." He yawned and rested him chin on Beatrice's head.

"Then shall we take custody in the Forbidden Archive, I suppose?"  
"Depends... _*yawn*_ can Beako detect anyone while inside?"  
"Betty is a Great Spirit, such a simple task is nothing, I suppose"  
"Right then... here..."

He picked her up and opened the door right next to him, surprisingly it was the library, Beatrice was still shocked to how he was able to break through her door crossing.

He went over to her bed and slept on it, Beatrice, on the other hand, sat on her stool, she wanted to sleep with Subaru but that might be a tad bit risky as no one else would be able to stay alert.

After a while she got tired of her position so instead she shifted over to the bed and just stared at Subaru's sleeping face, poking it and moving his mouth, he didn't wake up easily so she was absorbed in it until she felt a presence coming close to the door, it made her jump back.

The door opened and on the other side, Ram can be seen, she was surprised that she had found the door to the Forbidden Archive but brushed it off.

"Pink one... what do you need, I suppose..."

"I was merely making my way to the storage room but it seems I've gone elsewhere... I was also finding where that idiotic Barusu is, do you know where he is, Beatrice-sama" she said in a polite manner.

"Subaru is currently in a deep slumber, I suppose" she pointed over to her bed.

Ram walked over to her bed and her face twisted in disappointment, "Seriously, what do you see in this man, Beatrice-sama... Rem as well..."

"At first, Betty saw him as a nuisance" she hopped back into the bed and sat beside Subaru's head, "Someone who thinks he's the best, someone who wants attention, nosing around other peoples business... I suppose"

Ram snickered and gave an agreeing nod.

"But now... he proved to be someone who would risk his life just so he could see other people happy, I suppose" She gave him a smile, "Betty doesn't know how he changed that fast, only about a week in the capital and he's a different person... the younger sister must have done something during their stay, though what, Betty doesn't know..."

"Of course, I too am curious in what my little sister could have done to make this bag of filth change into a lesser bag of filth..."

After looking down at him, she turned her attention towards Beatrice, who was fiddling with his hair, "Beatrice-sama, Frederica-sama has informed me to stay alert on your request, may I know what the reason may be?"

"Subaru had suspected that someone he and the silly girl encountered in the capital may return to finish her job, I suppose..."

"Really? The chances for that to happen would be quite low, what makes you think it may happen...?"

"Subaru is strange, he's someone who has no talent, combat prowess, or great magic ability, I suppose, him making such claims would be easily swatted off as paranoia... but he was able to save that girl from the assassin, he was able to tell he got cursed, and he was able to supply infromation about the Hakugei and Witch cult... after all that, him saying something like this would be more than believable, but he is also Betty's contracter so Betty has complete faith in him anyways, you know..."

"..." Ram couldn't help but think the same way, "Although I hate to admit it, he sure does have the tendency to be in the right place at the right time, it's almost as if he knows it was going to happen beforehand..."

Hearing her comment, Beatrice twitched a bit but it wasn't noticeable enough. After that Ram bowed and left the two alone in the library, it would be about eleven at night right now, Beatrice couldn't keep up her guard so she drifted to sleep beside Subaru.

* * *

Subaru woke up, after scratching his sleepy eyes he suddenly jolted up, frantically looking around, he smelt books and books.

"So I didn't die yet..." He said inaudibly.

He tried to get up but it seems Beatrice has once again clung to his arm in her sleep, seeing her like that he couldn't help but wonder what she was dreaming about.

"Kill..." she murmured in her sleep, it sent a chill through Subaru's spine.

He decided to just carry her out of the library as to not waste time and so that he doesn't wake up that cute sleeping face.

He went over to the door and opened it, on the other side, Frederica and Ram were there preparing what he thought was breakfast. They both took a quick look at him, it seemed he just woke up.

"You finally decided to wake up Barusu," Ram said in a cold tone.

"Shhh, Beako's still asleep..." He put a finger on his mouth to single them to be quiet, "Anyway what time is it?"

"Second Fire time, 3rd hour, you overslept the whole day, Barusu..." She said disappointedly.

He slept at around nine last night and had awoken at three in the afternoon, calling it oversleeping would be an understatement, it must have been Beatrice's bed. Though it wasn't completely bad since now he can patrol at night for much longer.

He went over to his room and put Beatrice down on his bed and he immediately went to take a bath. As he went over to the changing room and took off his clothes something fell down, he didn't notice as he was still a little bit groggy from oversleeping.

After about fifteen minutes he got out of the bath and dried himself, he put on his Butler clothes and was about to leave but then his foot hit something, he looked down to see that it was Betelgeuse's gospel, with all the looping and tea parties and all, he had completely forgotten that it was in his pocket the whole time.

He picked it up and left, approaching over to his room, he opened a few of the pages from the back, it was all blank until he saw the last written page, and to his surprise, he could read it.

"..."

He stopped in his tracks, he shouldn't be able to read it, unless...

"Have I been... accepted...?"

Most of its text was written horribly but he could still slightly make it out, it read...

"Put half-elf to trial... Talk about vague..." He said as he leaned onto the wall.

This brought him a memory, one where Betelgeuse told him that they were to put Emilia into a trial, the madman described it as checking if she were a worthy vessel for the Witch to latch on to, he wasn't sure how they were going to do it but the end product would be that Emilia dies.

But then a thought suddenly struck him, what if... "The trial the gospel talked about... what if it was a different one..."

"Like mother's trial, I suppose?"

The sudden voice startled him but as he looked over to his side, he saw Beatrice, fully awake, she went up to him and asked, "You can read it know, I suppose?"

"Yeah... not sure how though... does it mean I'm the new owner or something?!"

"Not necessarily... if the owner of a gospel ends, so does their gospel's contents... unless the person was Juice, I suppose... the freak was able to jump into bodies and take control, unless that happens, the gospel is completely gone..."

"But I'm able to read it... does that mean... Betelgeuse is..."

"No, I suppose, that would be impossible, Betty's contract wouldn't allow any other spirit to take Subaru... though, could this be the result of the Witch genes, I wonder..."

She looks over to him, he hasn't really grasped the contents of the word 'Witch gene' very clearly yet, so he asked, "Care to explain these Witch genes a little bit more in-depth cause I'm still kinda lost here..."

Beatrice gave a disappointed sigh and grabbed onto him, she went over to a door and opened it, it was the forbidden library, they went in and closed the door, then she opened the door again and it was now the front door. They could see Frederica trimming the bushes in the distance and in from behind them appeared Ram.

"I cannot allow you to slack off, Barusu, you shall accompany me to purchase supplies"  
"Oh, I was going to talk with Beatrice about some things but alright then..."

"Beako?"  
"I shall stay and destroy any intruders, I suppose, come find me when you're done then I'll explain it"

Her reason seemed pretty solid but that was just a facade, she knew Subaru would try to get her to go with the other kids, she was okay with Petra but not the rest, not yet anyway. Beatrice received a head pat from Subaru and the other two left for the village.

* * *

As they were on their way Ram stopped, Subaru who was behind her also stopped, without turning back she said, "Is it a divine protection?"

"Huh...?" He was surprised by her sudden question.

"That... insane intuition of yours..." she turns around to face him and gave him a doubt filled look, "Is it a divine protection?"

"Um... by intuition... you mean how I think someone might attack...?"

"No... it's everything, how you knew where most of everything was when you came to the mansion, how you guessed that you got cursed that day, about how you knew information about the Hakugei and the Witch-cult... With someone as dumb as you, those would be impossible to tell... there must be a trick..." She said as she stared deep into his eyes.

She was entering somewhere extremely deep, something he has tried his best to keep hidden after that one time he killed Emilia, "I'm not sure actually... I heard that if you have one, you would automatically know, so... I don't"

"Is that a lie?" She said.

"W-What! No, why would I lie about something like that?! If I did have such things I'd point it out so you'd trust me more!"

"Haah... it seems your not as dumb as I thought you were..." she turned around and continued moving, Subaru following not far behind, "Then, can you explain about how you knew about all of it?"

"Well, the mansion rooms... it was like how I found the Forbidden Archive I think... just kinda lucky... the curse, I asked about them from Beako that morning and I was just curious so I wanted to check... the Hakugei and Sloth... I had a run in with them before and with the help of my old Metia, I was able to get information about them..."

"Where is that Metia now?"

"Why are you asking these question, Ram? Anyway, I had to trade it in with the Capital's royal treasurer so I could get his help, so I don't have it now"

The tone of his voice didn't sound like it held lies, she wasn't facing him so she couldn't be sure but there was one thing that could bring it out though, "Do you know about Master's book..."

"A book? No, don't know any particular book that Roswaal may have... why do you ask? Actually, can you tell me about this book? It sounds interesting..."

"I have made a grave mistake, it seems you are as dumb as I originally thought..."

"What!? How the heck was I supposed to know about that? Come on, tell me about this 'book' Roswaal has"

"If you want to know, go find out yourself, anyway we're here..." Before they knew it they were already in the village gates, "I shall commence with the shopping, you would probably be tackled by the village children the moment we enter so your just going to help me carry them back"

She was right, the moment he entered, all the village kids rushed over to him, well, all but Petra, she walked over slowly with a smile on her face.

"You will be an excellent servant in the future," Ram said suddenly.

"H-Huh?!" everyone gasped and looked confused and surprised at Ram. "What do you mean, Ram Nee-sama..."

"Despite being out of work, you still maintain great posture, that is one of the best forms of determination, you may very well pass Barusu in a matter of hours if you keep that up"

"Hey, if you want to insult me just say it!"  
"Barusu's fragile heart would not be able to handle such remarks"  
"Again with the indirect insults!"

All the children laughed with their mouths opened wide, Petra on the other hand, just did a little giggle, she turns over to Ram and asks, "Ram Nee-sama, do you need help with the shopping?"

She saw that Ram was holding a piece of paper with the help of her maid training and her time at the mansion, she deduced that Ram and Subaru had come to restock their supplies.

"I can clearly see that you are worried about not coming back to the mansion but rest assured, the moment we know it's safe, Barusu will come over to pick you up"

Her eyes gleamed with glee, she was barely able to hold back her joy, "A servant must know when to take a break, so do just that right now" Ram points over to Subaru and urges Petra to go ahead which she does.

.

"Subaru-sama, is the mansion safe yet? Oh, and where is Beatrice-chan?"

Subaru and the kids were sitting in the shade waiting for Ram to finish with the shopping, "Well... the mansions not safe yet, Beako is guarding the mansion in case someone tries something"

"What? Subaru, you shouldn't let a little girl stay there alone!"

"Heh, I know she seems little, really I thought that too, but under that cute face is a raging monster that would lash when provoked" she hasn't really shown that side too much, but he had a feeling that she would. "Beside's, she helped beat the Witch Cult"

"Really, Beatrice-chan?!"

"Yep, she along with me and Mr. Greatest Knight, took down Betelgeuse, the Witch cult's sin archbishop of Sloth!"

Excited to hear the story that he hasn't yet told them, they all sat down quietly as he told them about the battle. Soon after they finished Ram had finally done the shopping, Subaru went over to her, it was quite the load today.

"This thing's twice as heavy as last time!" He said as he struggled trying to carry the barrel

"Is it too much for a weakling like you? Must Ram aid you in this? You truly are useless, Barusu..."  
"Just keep talking, you'll see..."  
"Fine, I sh-"

 **"Murak..."**

Not letting her finish her sentence, he chanted his newly learned spell form the Hakugei Subjugation, Murak, a spell that reduces the effects of gravity. The Barrel slowly lifted up from the ground, Ram was dumbfounded.

"It seems a dog like you has the ability to learn new tricks..."  
"Hah, 'Look before you Leap' Ram, if you say something before-"

"If you have the time to talk, you have the time to walk, Barusu" Ram had already reached the village gates, leaving without him.

"Hey, I may be able to pick it up but this thing's still a bit heavy to push... hey wait for me, Ram!"

.

After seeing him struggle so hard, she decides to slow down a bit so he could catch up, soon they had reached the mansion and Frederica had taken the barrel that Subaru was pushing.

Beatrice was nowhere to be found so he decided to look for a little while. He ultimately ended up in the stables where Beatrice was with Patarasche, Otto was also there.

"Otto?! Man, I forgot you were still here, thought you left already..."

"Is my presence really that small for you!? Anyway, I won't leave yet, you still haven't done your end of the deal, are we going to go back to Sanctuary?"

"Nope, not quite yet, still have some business to handle here, we'll leave after that's done, if I were you, I'd go stay in the village if I were you"

"Huuh... I'm staying here, I've heard from Frederica-san that someone might attack, if you were to die now I wouldn't be able to meet the Margrave now wouldn't I" Otto said as he opened the stable doors, "Besides, you are weak Natsuki-san..."

"Hey, wha-!"

Not letting him say anything, Otto continued, "Putting up a strong front for the people that have an interest in you, or people you have vowed to protect, is more or less a natural thing to do, but.." He turns back and stares at him, "You shouldn't keep it up like that towards your friend..."

He couldn't quite grasp what Otto was, and he was slightly confused by the last word, 'Friend', who was Otto talking about, he thought about it for a while, he did kinda see Otto as a 'Friend', though he would have trouble saying so.

"You've been very secretive about this 'business' you have but I'm sure it's not something easy to handle, especially on your own... so ask for help, directly I mean..." That was the last thing he said before closing the stable doors, leaving Beatrice and Subaru to ponder what had just happened.

"Freind huh... haha..."  
"Subaru?"  
"You're seriously gonna get yourself killed..."

"Let's go, Elsa might be attacking right this moment for all we know..."

With that they left the stables and headed for the mansion's front yard, for they still had some things to discuss, unknown to them, the mansion had already been surrounded with an inescapable horde, ready to attack a a moments notice...

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Decided to put the Otto scene early on so we get more action from him, I have a feeling that the amount of total chapters might be slightly lower than I originally thought, but you never know.**

 **I'm utterly terrible at making Titles for these chapters, so if you have any ideas please tell me!**

 **Leave a review about ideas, mistakes, opinions, or just to say hi! Update speeds vary ever so slightly, five to two weeks, see ya then.**


	10. Chapter 10: Save Yourself

_Whaaat, soo fast, just half a day and the next chapter?! I sacrificed my game time and studies for this, hope you enjoyed. I was just too excited, I had to write it in one go..._

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Save yourself**

"Witch genes are similar to a substitute for Divine Protections, I suppose. You can't have both at the same time"  
"Does having witch genes like... make you connected to the witch?"

"Not when you're talking about 'The Witch', the witch genes corresponds to the witch that it originates from, I suppose, so if you can read Juice's gospel, you must have Sloth's witch gene"

"I see..."

Subaru and Beatrice were outside, having finished with dinner they went out to the gazebo to talk about witch genes and such. The sun was setting, the orange hue piercing through the tree leaves as they swayed in the wind.

"Though being compatible is very rare, Betty also thinks that your looping is caused by another witch gene, it could possibly be why you smell of the witch, I wonder..."

"Well, I guess I'm just lucky then, hehe... or is it unlucky... or special?"  
"Did mother do something to you while you talked with her, I suppose?"  
"Echidna...? Not that I... wait, she did give me some tea, her... uhm... body fluids..."

"Betty... would not like to know what that is, I suppose... but could be a reason why you have Sloth's genes, they take time to merge with the soul..."

.

They sat there, enjoying the evening breeze, although stayed alert, it seems that tonight might be safe as well. All they could hear was the chirping of insects from the forest, being fed up with the boredom, Subaru tried to start a conversation.

"Hey Beako, was your Gospel different from the Witch cultist's?"

"Yes, I suppose... unlike Juice's Gospel, Betty's Gospel was a more complete version, it was handed down to Betty by Mother, the Witch Cult's Gospel's creator is unknown to Betty but no doubt they use the same mechanic"

"And what might that mechanic be?"

"Betty's Gospel draws information from the 'Worlds Memories', I suppose, it was a book that records all past, present, and future events, and it was in Mother's possession, any mere human would be brain dead just by a glance at its pages due to the sheer amount of information it holds..."

"I see... hey Beako, how many people have Gospel's like yours?"

"Only two, that would be Betty and the first R-"  
"..."

They could feel something, something was watching them, something was definitely near, he could feel Death looming around but where. They both stood up frantically looking around, the sun was almost about to set, if she was going to attack now would be the best time to do it.

"...!"

Suddenly, almost instinctively he grabbed Beatrice and jumped off the gazebo, falling down with a roll, the gazebo was torn down. "W-What?!"

From the rubble, two rather large hyena-like mabeast rose, their mouths drooling with saliva as they stared at their prey. 'This wasn't supposed to happen, only Elsa was supposed to attack' those thoughts, filled his mind, why are these things here, he has no idea.

"S-Subaru!"  
"Got it!"

Beatrice's voice broke him from his trance, and he picked himself up and ran towards the mansion, the two mabeast howled terrifyingly and chased them. Beatrice raised her palm and took aim, **"El-Mina!"** she chanted, about thirty purple bolts were summoned and they shot out like bullets towards them, one was able to dodge most of them while the other got impaled almost everywhere.

They were nearing the mansion's porch but the other mabeast was still hot in their trail, with Subaru moving staggeringly, it was hard for Beatrice to aim properly and so kept on dodging. It was much faster than them and it would catch up in a matter of seconds, even if they got in, it could just crash through the wall and chase them further.

Seeing that it would be over soon enough he grabbed onto Beatrice tight, "Hang on Beako!" He turns around and makes an abrupt stop.

 **"SHAMAK!"**

A black cloud surrounded and engulfed the mabeast causing it to lose its senses temporarily. He felt his gate being strained but he didn't really care.

"Beako, get us out of here!"  
 **"Murak!"**

Subaru kicked up and they both jumped onto the porch, he kicks open the window and jumps in, it was all dark except for the moonlight that shone through the windows.

"Beako how many people are in the mansion?"  
"Five, including us, it seems everyone is present, no extra... unless..."  
"GHH!"

"Otto, Ram! Frederica!"

He screamed their names as he ran through the corridors carrying Beatrice since she wasn't able to run as fast as he could. They could hear something below them, it was probably the mabeast smashing through the mansion.

"Subaru-sama!" A voice called out from the stairway, "Frederica!" The blonde haired maid came up the stairs and ran up to Subaru and Beatrice.

"Whats-"  
"Mabeasts are attacking, not what I was expecting, where's Otto and Ram?" Subaru frantically explained the situation.  
"Well, Ram was somewhere near the west wings farthest lavatory but I'm not sure where Otto-sama is...""  
Damn... I hope their-"

.

 _ ***Boom!***_

.

"Khaa!"

A wall burst open and Otto flew out of it, slamming his back on the wall.

"Otto!"  
"Ugh..."

The three rush over to him, Subaru grabbed a hold on to him while Beatrice applied healing magic, the blast originated from an adjacent room, it was filled with dust and broken furniture but from it appeared...

"..."  
"Elsa..."  
"Kuhuhu... we meet again..."

Seeing her made his blood boil in rage, if she's here then, "No... What the hell did you do to Ram!"

"Hmm... The pink haired one... ahh, she was very quick and was able to find me in an instant but I was able to silence her, she was a satisfactory dance partner... but she wasn't in the list sadly..."

" . !"  
 **"El-Shamak!"**

Beatrice chanted and smoke exploded in front of them covering the width of the hallway, the black smoke was unlike Subaru's own, just by looking at it you could tell that it was more powerful than Subaru's Shamak. If his Shamak was made of stone than this one would be of iron.

Subaru dragged Otto out while Beatrice grabbed Frederica's hand. They staggered away from the spell. Frederica had pulled out some claw things on her hands, 'Were those weapons or did she just grow tiger paws?' Subaru thought.

Otto recovered rather quickly and was now running, they wear all filled with fear but Subaru was just straight out furious, Beatrice only felt five people's presence and there are currently five people here, including Elsa, which could only mean she had gotten Ram already, although she already made that clear.

Subaru turned back and pointed his palm towards the black cloud, **"MINYA!"** A single purple bolt formed in front of his palm and shot out, it wasn't refined like the one he made during the battle with Betelgeuse, it was more of a spiky rock than a bolt.

"Subaru, no!" Beatrice shouted. "Wha-!"

Suddenly, he felt a surge of pain through his body, he was forcing his gate too much and it's at the brink of collapsing, he felt his legs almost go numb, he staggered in his steps and was about to fall forward, he was caught by Otto and Frederica.

Nevertheless, he cast his first Minya spell on his own. It shot from his hand and straight for the spot Elsa was in but from the smoke a kukri knife was sent hurdling through the smoke and deflected the 'bolt', rendering his attempt futile.

"Natsuki-san?!"  
"Subaru-sama?!"  
"Gah... straining my gate too much, starting to take it's toll on my body... bad idea..."  
"You idiot, just use Betty as your gate, I suppose! I can't lose you yet!"

Beatrice tried her best to help his gate stabilize but they were running out of time. Another kukri knife came flying towards them, Frederica acted, she jumped and deflected it.

She stood there to guard the three, "Otto-sama, Beatrice-sama, please take Subaru-sama and le-"

"Like hell, I'd let you stay and fight alone!" Subaru mustered up all his willpower to get up on his feet, "Beako... we still have Gate crossing right?"

"Yes, Betty can still..."  
"Beako?"

"T-The Forbidden archive... is connected to an open door..."

"Oh, that would be my mistake, sorry... Ahh, I really should close the door when I leave a room... I do apologize for being rude, kuhuhu..." her apology didn't sound the slightest bit sincere, she was the only who can joke at a time like this.

"But how did you enter, you aren't allowed to enter without Betty's permission..."  
"Your magic operates by connecting that library to any closed door within this mansion... so if I were to leave each door open..."  
"The chances of finding the correct door are increased... Gah... It's four on one, chances are pretty good... let's just take her on, there's still a mabeast running around anyway"

"By the looks of it, it seems only two are actually worth fighting, don't you think?"

"You best not underestimate me too much, gut hunter, a merchant must always be prepared in case of bandits so I'm pretty well with combat," Otto said as he put up a defensive stance.

"Heh... I'll fight till I die, you can bet on that!" Subaru grabbed onto Beatrice's hand, it glowed and in front of him a purple, verticle streak of light formed, it glowed dimly at first but soon was as bright as a lamp, the light started to materialize into something else, it became solid, it continued until the light was gone.

The object fell down onto Subaru's arm, it was an amethyst blade, curved, one-sided blade, a katana to be precise. Everyone, including Elsa, was staring at it in awestruck.

"H-How... that's an advanced refinery spell, and even without chanting, I suppose... Subaru, when did..."  
"Well... I read it from a book at the capital, Puck told me that magic was basically visualizing so I thought of a sword and I guess this happened...?"

He shrugged it off and pointed the sword towards Elsa, it was wasn't heavy for a sword, but it wasn't too light. Subaru and Beatrice's entwined hands still had a faint glow, it seems like the very presence of the blade drained mana so he only had a limited amount of time.

"Fufufu... this will be exciting, now show me, Feller of the Hakugei, show me a great dance!"  
"Heh, you're in for quite a surprise...".

* * *

"Okay now stay put here, Gilly, don't move no matter what, the mission would be a failure if they can escape" A voice, sweet and innocent, the giant Chimera mabeast, with a head of a lion, body of a goat, the tail of a snake, sat there and nodded diligently at it.

"Good, I'm going to bring Wagpig for a walk, that Onii-san really stinks so try and control yourself alright?"

The voice came from above, there was a girl, on top of something... rather large, it nearly fit the whole hallway.

"Right, let's do this!"

* * *

 _*Clang* *Clash*_

Subaru charged head first, putting what he learned from Wilhelm during his stay at the capital into use, he swung his blade lightly, being careful not to give his enemy an opening. She dodged the strikes effortlessly by just taking a few steps back.

Frederica came up and slashed at Elsa, managing to scratch her cheek ever so slightly, Elsa went further back and swung her kukri knife at her, she blocked it with her knifes but she received a kick in exchange, it pushed her back until she was just beside Subaru.

Otto had a sack of magic gems, they were explosive so using one would no doubt hurt the others as well so he had to wait for the right moment.

 **"El-Minya"**

Beatrice summoned more Minya bolts and shot it towards her, she dodged them swiftly and landed gracefully, "You need to fix your aim, little one..."

"Think again, I suppose..."

The bolts that had passed her burst, several shards traveling straight towards her, it filled the entire hallway so dodging was most definitely impossible. The shards tore through the air and pierced through her, but...

"My, what a cunning move..."

She stood up, clearly unharmed, it seemed as if nothing had ever happened, Beatrice and Frederica looked at her shocked, Elsa grinned at them.

"Dang it... forgot about that magic nullifying cloak..."  
"Too bad you haven't told the girl earlier..."

She took off her feathered cloak and threw it to the side, she swung her kukri blades around her arms and threw them towards them, Beatrice put up a barrier, the knife flew at a terrifying speed but it slowed down when it broke the barrier, Subaru took his sword and deflected the knife.

She reached for her outfit and pulled out two more. If this keeps up, they either die or she wastes all her weapons, who knows how many she has hidden it that black outfit.

"Beako, now would be a good time to go like... super loli mode or something, please tell me you can do that..."  
"Stop calling me a loli, I suppose!"

She released Subaru's hand, the sword in his hand disappeared and Beatrice's arms were spread, "Let me show you what real darkness is..." She got ready, a strong surge of mana can be sensed emanating from her small figure, whatever this next spell is, it's going to be pretty strong.

 **"Ul-Shamak!"**

Another blast of smoke filled the hallway, Shamak cancels out the senses but your still able to sense direction, El-Shamak takes that sense of direction away, but Ul-Shamak is a whole other level.

.

 _Was I standing..._

 _Was I sitting..._

 _Was I Breathing..._

 _Where am I..._

 _Am I a human..._

 _Who am I..._

 _Was I Alive..._

 _Was I Dead..._

 _._

That's the questions that surfaced his mind, his sensory system was going crazy, they felt nothing, all he could see or feel was darkness, all he could think of was darkness, he couldn't do anything else but question reality at the moment.

'Wake up... I suppose'

Hearing that voice, he got up, it was still dark, he was still in the hallway, Frederica, Otto and Beatrice were still with him, he was gone for just a second, yet it felt like several minutes, that was the power of shadow magic.

"E-Elsa?"  
"Betty is done with her, I suppose"

She points over to the wall, two large spikes protruding from the ground had pierced through her body, hitting her heart and most of her stomach region, she was most definitely dead, it was impossible for anyone to survive that.

"Right... let's go before that mabeast finds us... Arghh! What am I going to tell Rem..."

He clutches his head as they ran past the corner. He was already considering retrying this loop, Ram was too much of a loss, but even so, he had to save everyone before he actually did the looping bit, leaving while everything's still all dark and hopeless would be a cowardly thing to do.

They were about to turn a corner before, "AKHH!" A knife was impaled on Otto's shoulder, he slumped down and groaned in pain.

"Ot-"

Before Subaru could come and pick him up, Frederica had grabbed him and jumped sideways into a corner, narrowly dodging another knife. "That was... rather close... if you had burnt me, maybe I might have been done for... but I'm still here, so let's dance some more"

Elsa, appeared from the corner and walked over to Otto, the others just stared at her in disbelief, how was she still alive, that was impossible to survive.

"You... Vampire..." Frederica murmured silently.

She walked up to Otto and placed the sole of her foot on the knife, "It was fine knowing, though I never had a very liking to merchant bowels..."

"Hk-"  
"Otto!"

She started applying force onto the knife, it slowly started to sink into his flesh, any sudden movements and his arm would be snapped right off.

"N-Natsuki-san..."

"a..." Hearing the weak and dying voice of his 'friend' and seeing him in that situation all he could do was stare fearfully.

"RUN!"  
"What?!"

 **"DONA!"**

The ground under the sack he just dropped sprouted up and slammed to the ceiling, all the magic gems inside exploded out, making the ceiling and everything it's holding collapse.

"OTTO!"

Frederica grabbed the two and dashed back, narrowly missing a chunk of falling debris, Subaru was left in utter shock and fear, he couldn't think anymore.

"Subaru-sama! Subaru-sama!"  
"Subaru! Now's not the time to space out, I suppose!"

"I... I'm sorry..." His mind had broken down, he couldn't think anymore, all he did was run, run and run, he definitely will retry this, and next time, he'll find the correct ending, no matter what it takes.

.

They made a run for it, they decided to go for the escape route in Roswaal's office, they went up the stairs and on to the left wing, they met small mabeast on the way which was dealt with quickly by Beatrice and Frederica, Subaru on the other hand, couldn't think straight, they were just about at Roswaal's office but...

"Grrr"

In front of the office door was another mabeast, a large one actually, about a head taller than Frederica, it blocked the whole passageway, Subaru fell back as the other two looked at in terror.

Frederica and Subaru were focusing on the beast but Beatrice was looking at something else, an open door, surprisingly there was light emanating from it, then she realized.

"The Archive door..."

Frederica and Subaru took notice of it as well, if there was any chance of them surviving then closing that door would be it.

"Subaru-sama... GET AWAY!"

Suddenly, Frederica dashed forward, Subaru was too slow to grab her, she kept on going towards the beast, it growled quietly, it started stepping forward slowly, it seems he was belittling the maid.

Frederica made a leap forward and aimed her claws down on it, a foolish act this would be, the beast just opened its jaws wide but...

It was just a feint, she swung her foot and slammed it into the beast's face, it hurled towards the wall and quarter of its body crashed through it. Frederica proceeded down the hallway to reach the door but...

 _*Crash*_

The beast recovered quickly and used the tip of its tail to slash at Frederica, it hit her right shoulder down to her left waist, effectively ripping her back, she screamed from the pain, and fell forwards, just about reaching the door, she tried to drag herself over the door to enter the room and close it.

"KHA!"

The tail stabbed at her foot and locked her in place, she could barely reach the door, it didn't seem like the beast was going to do anything so she slowly closed the door, the pain was too much, the blood was spilling from her back.

"Get..."

The beast stomped its foot ontop her head, squishing the skull as if it was nothing. Subaru just felt fear, terror, guilt, fear, sadness, remorse, all those negative emotions, but now gate crossing should be possible so there should still be a chance...

"S-Su..."  
"B..."

They were stuck in position, they could do nothing else, they had already seen two people die in front of their eyes and they couldn't do anything about it. The beast saw that his prey was frozen in fear, it took advantage and approached them.

Beatrice reacted first and put up a barrier, Subaru couldn't do much so he just took Beatrice in his arms and put his back towards the beast, it crashed through the barrier, sending Subaru pummeling towards the wall.

"Su...baru..."

He was terribly injured but he forced himself up, Beatrice was relatively fine though, he couldn't bear the pain of hearing that ear-shattering scream again, the one from the last loop where they were assassinated. He started running, most of the doors were opened so they couldn't use them for gate crossing and closing one would cost time which is something they don't have.

They weren't being chased but he ran nonetheless, he got tired and stopped for a while, he plopped Beatrice down, both panting harshly, the situation was dread and they felt something was coming.

Suddenly from in front of them, mabeast crashed into the room, there was also someone with them, "Yay, we found them!"

"My you are persistent... I will enjoy cutting you up..."

They looked back but saw that there were more mabeast blocking the way, they were surrounded, cornered, this was a dead end.

"Subaru... please..."  
"Beako?"

"Please... hk- please..."

.

.

.

.

 **"PLEASE FORGIVE BETTY!"**

It was yet, another ear-shattering cry, Subaru had to cover his ears due to the sheer volume of it. All attention was diverted to her, "Beako... wha-"

"Betty is sorry!"

She aimed her palm at him and a force had blasted him into a closed door, he broke straight through it and landed in the other room, "Akh... Bea- AGh...!"

The pain was too much, he felt his mind slowly losing consciousness, he tried his best to keep looking, what he saw was a tear-eyed Beatrice, trembling, but even though, she gave him a sweet smile.

"Next time..." she muttered, but Subaru didn't hear her, he was sure that he imagined it but the door seemed to fade away into nothing. He was dying, wasn't he...

* * *

 **A/N**

 **...**

 **[Subaru]:** Author-san, why are you so cruel ;(  
 **[ReviewR524]:** Well, it's for character development, Subaru  
 **[Subaru]:** Character development my ass! I have to see them die!  
 **[Elsa]:** I don't mind though, so many bowels to cut... hehe [Insrt_Elsa_ ] **  
** **[Subaru]:** Shut it Sadist, your not an MC! [Main character] **  
** **[ReviewR524]:** Well I could make her an MC... **  
** **[Subaru]:** DONT YOU DARE, THIS IS ABOUT ME!  
 **[Elsa]:** About you being cut up... yes?  
 **[Subaru]:** *Silently grumbles*

 **...**

 **Woah, what do you think, pretty different from the canon story ey? Gonna make my story as different as possible from the original, so hope you enjoyed that.**

 **So second loop is gonna end soon, Third loop here we come, any suggestions, idea, whatever please PM me or leave me a review, heck even one word is ok, I crave for those notifications!**

 **Might make it a triple upload but Warlock's not gonna write itself, some slice-of-life here we go! Upload speeds vary, from five days to two weeks! but occasionally one day! like today!**


	11. Chapter 11: The Threat Deepens

_Fixed up Chap 10, was pretty sloppy. I explained Subaru sword thing a little bit more and there's an extra C-A conversation on the end if you want to re-read._

* * *

 **Chapter 11: The Threat Deepens**

"UGH..."

His whole body aches, how long has he been out, did he die, was he in the tomb, probably. He rolled his body to the side and relaxed, he opens his eyes slowly, nothing seemed to be in his mouth which was strange.

"Wait... why is it... morning?"

He sat up covering his eyes from the morning light, he was sitting on something solid, definitely not soft so it's not a bed, but not hard enough to be considered a rock, something in between.

"Wooden floor... where..."

His memory was hazy, he shot up quickly, scanning his surroundings. He was currently in a small room, with a lone window up high in the ceiling, it was definitely early morning, it may seem like he is in a shack, he looks around, nothing really caught his eyes, mostly just wooden furniture and... a white circle?

In the corner of the room he spotted some kind of circle with patterns engraved inside it, many crystals of different elements, most have lost their color and gleam. If he were to make a guess this would be...

"This is probably some kind of replacement for machines I guess... magic circles, maybe I'll ask Beako later... wait, where is-"

Suddenly he remembered what had happened, "ARGH! So we lost again!" he voiced his displeasure as he punched the wooden wall.

Elsa had attacked much earlier than before and with back up as well, did his sudden return caused that? Most likely. Now, he has more information, if he does nothing, Elsa attacks at the sixth night, if he returns any faster, not only does she attack sooner but harder, so now all he needs to do is get the timing right and it should finish this loop off.

"Well... could kill myself here... though, I'm kinda curious about this place..." The window on the roof was way too high for him to reach and he doesn't really want to use his gate too much, it's on the verge of collapsing.

He searched the room for a way out, there were no doors so Beatrice most likely teleported him to it, though he vaguely remembered breaking one.

In the corner of his eye, he saw a hatch, or trapdoor, whatever you call it. He walks over it and opens it up. It was a passageway, barely enough to fit him and it seemed to go to another, more spacious room. He got in and crawled through, the distance he covered made it possible to make a whole other room outside of this vent like passage.

"Argh..." He went out from the other side, he looked around and the first thing he noticed was a highly pungent and unpleasant stench enter his nose. He reflexively covers his nose, the smell was so bad that tears started forming in his eyes and his stomach was acting up.

He made a run for the door and got out of the building, falling down and taking a deep breath of fresh air.

"The hell was that smell..."

He picked himself up once more and peeked into the wooden shack. It had two windows and a large hole in the back, it seemed like something was fit there before, well whatever it was, it was none of his concerns.

He turns around, expecting to be somewhere around the mansion, but to his surprise, "Why... Sanctuary?" He was surrounded by trees, a dirt path extended towards a nearby village, and it was most definitely Sanctuary.

"So Beako brought me here... gah... well better check up on everyone then..."

* * *

It was silent, dead silent, no sound can be heard, "Hey!" his voice echoed through the lifeless village, no one was there, he could feel that the surrounding was slightly colder than the last time he came here, and the ground seemed to have been watered recently, but then something came in his vision.

"Snow...?"

A very small pile under one of the houses, he runs over to it and scoops it up, he watched it melt in his hands, "Did Emilia do this? Wait, where's Emilia?!" He frantically searched, every house, every corner, he shouted her name and countless others, but no one replied.

"Did she already finish the trail...?"

That's a possibility, but he could've sworn some of Sanctuary's residents were against leaving, there should at least be a few people behind, besides, all the carriages were used to take the hostages back so they shouldn't have left yet unless he was out for longer than he thought.

He went over to the center of the Sanctuary, intending to check the tomb to see if anything has changed but in his way was... "A bunny... haven't seen you guys in Lugunica yet..."

Well, he hasn't seen many animals, the ones he has would be dogs, cats, birds, and lizards, nothing more. He approached the little white rabbit and extended its arms towards it, but he noticed something, "A horn... wei- MABEAST!"

He jumped back after realizing what he was looking at, his momentum made him roll back before he could stop himself. He got up and took a defensive stance but he notices something, his hand was no more, it was all blood and bones. Looking at the defenseless bunny, he saw it nibbling on his arm, well, more like feasting on it.

"The hell... are... you-"

Before he could say any more, he had fallen to his knees, the pain started kicking in, he noticed that his legs were also eaten, and his arm, and parts of his stomach. They were eating him alive, one even went inside and ate his intestines, stomach, liver, and whatever was left. One would describe it as the most terrifying, most traumatic, most disturbing feeling ever and it still wouldn't be enough.

He wanted to scream out, but his throat was long gone, his vision was filled with white puff balls coated in nothing other than his blood, he wanted to scream out of pain, out of frustration and out of confusion.

'What the hell are you...' was his last thoughts before completely losing his consciousness.

* * *

A familiar sensation, one he felt only once but has made a clear mark on his memory, he opens his eyes to a blue sky filled with clouds, silky grass brushing against his skin. "Echidna's castle huh..."

"It seems like your doing alright, so what brings this abrupt visit?" He heard a distant voice, the voice of a witch, the voice that sounded like it knew the world and more, the voice that he wanted to hear for quite a while.

"So this is... your dreamscape, was it?" He got up to his feet and walks over to the table she sat beside, with everything that just happened, he's putting up a rather calm demeanor. "So why am I here?"

"You're asking me? That's what I'd like to know, I didn't bring you here, you brought yourself in this time, it's because you wanted to know about something, no? So, spill it out, I'm all ears..."

She tapped on the cup that was in front of him, signaling that she wants him to drink it, which to her surprise he did. "My, you drank it knowing full well what it is?"

"It'd be rude if I came to a tea party without drinking any tea," He said as he gulped it down in one go, a warm fuzzy feeling hit his stomach, it wasn't unpleasant, but it was weird. "I'm just gonna drink one cup so that's that... now to my questions..."

"Yes, yes, ask all the question you want..." She said with a cheeky grin.

He positioned himself so that he felt comfortable, putting a leg on his lap, "Right then... when is this..." "Ah, such a vague question..." A vague question indeed.

"I mean, I was just eaten by a bunch of bunnies, and I wasn't in the tomb, and my whole body seems to be fine right now..."

"My, it's only been a few hours, and you've already got yourself into many things... though, I don't recall any such thing happening outside of my tomb at this moment..."

"A few hours? Then it means I must have Return by Death again... Return by... oh SHIT!" Realizing his grave mistake, he covered his mouth, cursing himself for being careless. His wavering eyes, showed fear as he slowly looks towards the other person in the empty dream world.

She looked well and alive, her eyes still held the usual greedy glimmer in it, only something was slightly off, she was disturbed? "You know, it's not polite to stare at a woman's chest, I'm not very confident with mine..."

"W...Oh n-no, it's not that... the hands didn't come...?" He stuttered out, currently in shock, confusion, and relief.

"Ah, I see... it seems that 'The witch' thinks your the one..." Echidna mumbled, "The one?" Subaru asked, interested and at the same time scared about what 'The one' meant.

"Oh, nevermind, so... can you tell me about this, Return by Death you said earlier, it seems like it's definitely something the witch gave you, no?" Hearing her say his ability out loud so nonchalantly sent shivers down his spines, "Hm? Something the matter?"

"A-Ah... well, it's just I was expecting someone to get hurt when you said that..." He said while still confused about his situation, it could imply many things, maybe he lost Return by Death... lost it!? That's bad!

"I understand, not only were you given a rather interesting power, your also unable to speak of it, what a situation you are in... luckily, nothing can get inside my citadel without my consent"

After her saying this, Subaru eased up. "By the name you've given it, it seems the ability allows you to continue living despite losing your life, whether it'd be in a whole nother universe or in past time, what a lucky person you are..." She gave him a jealous look.

"More like unlucky, it's not fun dying over and over again, you know..."

"But think about all the possibilities you could do, all the different routes and different endings you can experience, the only thing stopping you is your sanity... the endless possibilities... all that knowledge..." Putting on a face that is unbefitting for a witch, she fantasizes about all the things she could discover with what could be called near-immortality.

"She's a witch... can't expect your thoughts to match up very well..." He mumbles. "Huh, did you say something?"

"Nah... anyway, moving on... I was eaten by a bunch of white furballs, was definitely one of the worst ways to die, could they be..."  
"The Great Hare most likely..."  
"God... the situation just got worse now hasn't it..."  
"The way you're going at it, it will only keep getting worse, you know..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"  
"If your gonna use an ability that allows you to retry upon death, might as well, use it correctly, you know?"

Echidna uprights herself, "You shouldn't waste your lives so carelessly, instead, you should use them with an objective, for instance, use one life solely for gathering information, and another for implementing, then when you feel confident, go for a final one, with everything planned out, that would be using your powers to the utmost best..."

He gave himself a mental facepalm, if he did that from the start, it would have been a lot easier and faster. "Gha, why didn't I think of that..."

After contemplating the thought, he stood up, "Leaving already?" Echidna said.

"Nope, If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to the Witch of Gluttony... Daphne, was it? Wanna talk about how to defeat the bunnies..."

"My... your thinking on taking it on...? Well, from my time, I'm guessing only the Sword saint or Roswaal could do it... Beatrice might be able to if she's careful..."

Of the three people she mentions, one stood out, "Roswaal? As in, the Mather's? The Court Magician? Well last I checked, nobody was alive at Sanctuary, so I don't think he could beat them..."

"Hmmm... wait you're not telling me he's still alive are you?!" It seems she was losing her cool, hearing that Roswaal was alive. "Oh, wait... maybe we're talking about different Roswaals... mine's got blue and yellow eyes, Indigo hair, wears clown make-up and a jester outfit..."

Hearing Subaru's description of 'his' Roswaal, Echidna calms down, "Then no... the one I know is much less... um... comedical, you can say...". Seems she isn't too fond about Roswaal still being alive after four hundred years.

"Anyway, you want to see Daphne, yes? Are you sure, I'm afraid it may not go too well, you two... might not be able to hold a stable conversation..."

"It's alright, even if she goes berserk, it's not like I can get hurt in here right? Besides I'm gonna take your advice, gonna use this life to gather everything I can, so I'm ready to throw a limb or two..."

"I see... well, off I go then..." She starts to fade away into nothing, "Don't look at her eyes, or undo her binds, you'll regret it" was the last thing she said. Shortly after, a girl inside a large coffin replaced her.

Seeing the restrained girl with blindfolds and shoulder-length gray hair, he couldn't help but stutter in his words, "U-hm... are..."

"*Sniff*, I don't know this smell... it smells good... who are you?"  
"Oh... names, Natsuki Subaru, and you are Daphne, I presume?"  
"Yes, Nat-Su, Daphne is the Witch of Gluttony... now is there anything to eat?"

(Kinda forgot what Daph called Subaru so we're going with Nat-Su, though I think she called him something like Baru-Baru or something, not sure...)

"Um..." He looks around, there's nothing he can think of that's edible, except, "Well there'd Dona tea... and Dona cookies? I don't want to know what it's made of..."

He takes a cookie and was about to walk up to Daphne, who was restrained, but she took a sniff, "No... Nat-Su shouldn't come to close, it's dangerous with your smell..."

"Eh? So you don't like the witches scent? Allergies or something?"  
"What? No, I smell meat, and that's more delicious than veggies..."  
"Oh..."

Taking a quick step back, he prepares to throw it, putting his aim right, he swung his right arm, the cookie was well off the actual trajectory path and was heading to the ground, but the coffin shifted and it landed on her mouth.

'That's some sense of smell' Subaru thought.

.

Another cookie, then another, until nothing was left, "That should do for now... so, why was I brought here?" She sat there, in her coffin, yawning, she ate about fifty cookies by now, he doesn't even know how he had that many on him.

"Right, I wanted to talk about... your children..."  
"Oh, yes, yes, Don-Don told me that you took down my whale, congratulations, so now you want to take my bunnies as well?"  
"Yeah... doesn't seem too hard, just take them out one by one and should be it right?"  
"Fufufu... how pitiful, you're never going to beat like that"

"If you want to beat my Great Hare, you'll have to take them all out at once, if you can't do that then your pretty much done for..."

"Oh... so about how many are we talking?"

She thinks for a while, "About one thousand if I remember correctly..." "Right, one... ONE THOUSAND?!"

"Yes, and they are able to replicate themselves at high speeds, so the faster you do it better... yeah, their not going down if you're going against them..."

"You can't even see me..."  
"I can still smell you though, you don't smell like someone very strong..."

'Strength has a smell? Didn't know that...' Subaru thought, "Why the hell did you create something as indestructible as that?! The other mabeast too!"

"Well let's see... if the bunnies can replicate as much as they can, the captor can eat as much as they want, the whale is very big, so it would make a great feast, the snake too..."

It was simple, she gave life to those creatures simply to solve the world's hunger, she made them with pure intentions but, "Do you know how many people died because of them!?" Subaru shouted, clearly upset about her way of thinking.

"Well, if your hunting something, somethings gonna have to hunt you right? It's only fair... out of all the sins, gluttony is purely put for survival, you see, you can live if you do something, you can live if you don't get something you want, you can live a without getting angry, you can live seeing everyone as equal, you can live without being loved... but you can't live without food..."

[What she said goes, SlothGreedWrathPride&EnvyLust - Gluttony, if anyone was wondering]

"U... A..." Subaru, clearly speechless after her speech contemplated on what she said and couldn't help but think that she was right, "If you had an excess of a sin, you'd survive, you'd live, though you'd lose your sanity, but if you have excess of Gluttony, thirst/hunger in other words, you'd just die wouldn't you...?"

She's absolutely correct, you can never be too Greedy, too Lazy, too Prideful, too Envious, but hunger has a limit, once you hit it, you die...

"Ok, I see... where you're going with this..." This was what Echidna was talking about, it wasn't that the two wouldn't get along, Subaru and Daphne had completely different views on matters, Subaru was more logical while Daphne was more... nature-oriented, the cycle of life and stuff, were the one who eats also gets eaten.

"Well, listening and talking wastes too much energy so if you wouldn't mind Don-Don!" She exclaimed in a rather whispery shout, she started to fade away and once again, the white-haired witch was seated in front of him.

"So how'd it go?"  
"Shouldn't you know, this is your place after all? Anyway, I got some useful info, though I get why you avoided bringing her up in the first place, she's not someone I could converse with easily..."  
"Yes, her way of thinking is... very fair, you could say... so any last question?"

He pondered for a bit, to be frank, that was all he wanted to know, she doesn't know any present knowledge since she's dead so there's no help there, but then a thought surfaced his mind, "Memories of the World..." He muttered. It made her head flick up instantly.

"Beako told me about it, she said the mechanics of the Gospel you gave her was 'based' on this book..."

"Oh you mean this one" As if appearing from thin air, a huge book, say about three times the size of a normal school notebook and was about four centimeters thick, it floated in the air before landing on the table with a thump.

(I think the real thing is the one Dona usually holds, if it is, then screws that description just pretend it was never there and move on okay?)

"Woah... if that's not it, I don't know what is..."  
"So, what did you want to know about this? Sadly I can't let you take a peek..."  
"Yeah, I know, knowledge overloading and brain dead stuff... I just want to know... who was the other Gospel for, Beako told me only two complete ones were made"

"That is correct, the holders would be Beatrice... and..."

.

.

.

.

(Suspenseful pause)

 **"Roswaal A Mathers"**

"Roswaal...!" It was very shocking, not only because his name was Roswaal but he was also a 'Mathers', meaning it was probable that it was Roswaal's predecessor, "My Roswaal... is also a Mathers, Roswaal L Mathers... could there be..."

"That's quite interesting... you best be careful, you never know if the Gospel was handed down... though I doubt it would function properly..."

Everything makes so much damn sense now, the 'book' Ram was talking about, it was definitely a Gospel, all the actions he's done, it was guaranteed by the Gospel that it would work out, so next question is, "Does he know of my Return by Death..." It was inaudible so Echidna paid no attention to it.

He decides he'd just ask him straight up once he's back, who knows how long he's been in here, though time flows differently between them so it's probably not a long time. "Okay then, I guess that's it for now..."

He started glowing, and waved his hand, "Leaving without payment?"

"Ah..." Of course, like last time, he had to pay a price for visiting the tea party, "Okay but I'd rather keep all the information I've earned please..."

"Oh, that's fine, I'm not interested in that, instead..." She hastily stuck her hand out and reached for one of his pockets, "I'll be taking this if you wouldn't mind"

It was the hankerchief Petra had made for him, wait, does that mean it would magically disappear from his pocket when he wakes up? Well it didn't matter, he was already gone, losing consciousness once again...

* * *

 **A/N**

...

 **[ReviewR524]:** Hey Dona, how high can you count?  
 **[Echidna]:** Higher than you... [Insert Roast_ 4]  
 **[ReviewR524]:** Woah, mind your manners Witch!  
 **[Echidna]:** Apologies, I've just got into this 'Roasting' thing the internet talked about...  
 **[ReviewR524]:** Oh, I see...  
 **[Echidna]:** It's a rather interesting way of seeing who can make the others speechless through words...  
 **[ReviewR524]:** That's not what roasting is about though...  
 **[Echidna]:** It's like a competition to see who's more good at asking and answering questions, ahh, such is a competition made for me!  
 **[ReviewR524]:** There she goes again...

...

I'm really liking these... breaking the fourth... no too long... hmm, these character-author conversations... we'll call it C-A conversations, there! From henceforth, this is an actual thing, too bad you can't copyright words...

I've started drinking coffee and boy is it helpful, keeps me up in the morning. Next chapter's the split chapter to Warlock if anyone wants to know... means its where Warlock fanfic begins from, ok?

Gonna work on Warlock things now... you know, the amusement park and all... see ya in 5 days or 2 weeks, idk which one...


	12. Chapter 12: Love darker than Shadows

**Chapter 12: Love that's Darker than a Shadow**

He spat out the bits of gravel that was in his mouth, he had just left Echidna's tea party, though, who know's how long he's been in there in real-world time. He was hoping not too long since time is limited.

He gets up and walks through the hallway to get Emilia, but to his surprise, "Emilia's... not here?!" the spot beside him, which was supposed to be where a certain half-elf sat, was empty.

Instantly, his mind started to panic, "Could she have finished the trail... no, if she did, of course, she'd try to wake me up... maybe I couldn't get up because I was in the tea party?"

He got up and dashed up the stairs, the moonlight hitting his face, the wind breezing through his hair, it was calm, but no one was there.

"..."

Everything in front of him, was black, Garfiel, Ram, Beatrice, Lewes, Rem, Otto, none of them were waiting for him, none of them were there. All he could see were shadows, shadows that originated... from the tomb?

"Suuu..."

HIs eyes widened in fear when he heard a cold voice coming from behind him, it sent more than just shivers down his spine. He could feel the extreme pressure from the presence behind him, it was unlike anything he'd ever felt before, surpassing even the Witch of Greed's.

"Suuubaruu..."

He gulped and turned his head slowly, and all he could see was darkness, shadows in the shape of a person, a silhouette you could say. He couldn't comprehend the nature of the voice, it was morbid and had a sense of desperation. Was it a woman or a man? He couldn't tell, all he could describe it as was distortion.

"Ah..."

He was frozen in fear, he wanted to run for it but his body just won't respond to his pleading. The shadowy figure extended its arms towards Subaru, it was like death itself trying to grasp him, he could feel the danger, but he was stuck.

 **"Get outta there ya bastard!"**

From an area that wasn't patched up in darkness and figure jumped out and tackled Subaru away from the shadow, they both rolled off to the side, instantly creating distance.

"Kha- G-Garfiel?"

He looked at the young blonde boy that had pushed him from imminent danger. "Oi, don't ya just god damn freeze like that!" He said while scowling at him.

"M-My bad... anyway, the hell's that thing?!"

Their gazes averted to the shadow that stared at them, it was just that, a big lump of shadows, they can only slightly see the purple outlines, but other than that, it was all just darkness, like a void.

"Tch, 'S what my amazin self's wanna know... the lil spirit girl's waiting, so hold on!" He grabs Subaru by the collar of his tracksuit and takes a huge leap of the ground, leaving a crater behind.

"Gha! Warn a guy will ya!"

He puts his left hand on his chest while the other on his shirt to stop the force from ripping off his neck, and he chanted **"Murak"**. Noticeably, Garfiel seemed to go faster, was he really that heavy?

Garfiel's feet touched the ground and once again, his legs folded and he took another great leap. The shadow wasn't just watching idly, the crater was quickly engulfed in darkness as it pursued them.

Jump after jump, they finally reached what seems to be the remains of Sanctuary, broken down buildings lined up on a black plane with scraps of wood piling up unevenly on places. They landed on top of the roof of the Cathedral, a teary-eyed Beatrice came running up to them.

"SUBARU!"  
"B-Beako!"

She clung onto his tracksuit, letting her tears flow through it, "You okay, I suppose?" She gave him a worrisome look, the looks she had before her deaths in the past timelines. This was a side Beatrice shows rarely, it was a pure look of worry. It shows just how important he was to her, he kneeled down to get on her level and took out the handkerchief Petra gave him to wipe her tears off.

"Hey, soon-to-be-knight, what do we do?"

"Right... well first of all, please don't tell me this is all that's left..." Silence, the two looked away, "So that 'thing' took em, huh...? Beako, what do you think that thing is?"

"Betty is unsure... though the blue haired one did notice... an excessive amount of Miasma before it came out of the tomb..."

"The tomb?!"

* * *

Everyone has been waiting in front of the tomb's entrance for about thirty minutes now, and there still doesn't seem to be any sign of anyone coming out. But suddenly, Rem sniffed the air, something was coming.

"Subaru-kun!?"  
"What's wrong, I suppose?"  
"Miasma... Subaru-kun is coming!"

They all brightened up when Rem said that, they looked down the stairs hopefully, but they say nothing.

"Wait..."

Something felt off, Beatrice could feel it, though there may be a trace of Miasma, Beatrice can't feel Subaru coming closer, whatever was coming, it definitely wasn't Subaru. Before she could think about it further, Rem went forward intending to get a better look.

"Rem! That's not Subaru, I suppose!"

Beatrice tried to go for her hand, but shadows suddenly started erupting from the entrance, Rem getting engulfed in it completely, it wasted no time as it gouged down on everyone else. Before Ram was taken, she shot out a blast of wind at Garfiel's direction, saving him from the shadows embrace.

Beatrice was able to create some distance by teleporting away a few away then proceeded to float in the air. She then started firing several Minya bolts at it, but the shadows extended forward and slashed at them as if they were nothing. One came straight for Beatrice, she put up a makeshift barrier but it got slammed but the shadow as if it were a whip.

She was plummeting down but Garfiel caught her just before she could make impact, "Hey spirit! Hold on, we're gettin outta here quick!"

"B-But Subaru!"  
"We'll get em later!"

The pathway to Sanctuary was blocked out so they decided to make it around, through the forest. Garfiel jumped from branch to branch, with Beatrice close in his arms. He made one final leap and he went above the trees, he could see Sanctuary, but there was nothing left. The shadow had already reached it before they did, nothing but wrecked houses.

* * *

"Why... don't tell me... that god damn Witch is here! Now of all times!" He shouted as he glared down the directions the shadows originated from, "Ya askin us? Yer the one tha smells like her, so was hopin you got an idea or something?"

"Let's just cover some distance, for now, I suppose..."  
"Good idea, Beako"  
"Does my amazin self have to carry both of ya?"  
"Nope, I'd rather not get dragged by the neck!"

He grabs a hold of Beatrice and jumps off, shouted, **"Murak!"** , once he lifted his feet off the ground, the building started to crumble, prompting Garfiel to jump as well. Garfiel's jump was much faster than Subaru's but he makes it up for a higher altitude. They continued jumping, one building after another.

"Damn it... think of something, Subaru... you've got that 20th-century brain so use it..."

He looked around as he continued his escape, he even spun around to see his back as well, though nothing seemed to catch his sight, mostly because everything was engulfed in shadows. 'Shadows... shadows... how the hell do you beat shadows! Light...? Wait... yes that's it, Light!'

He desperately looks around for a light source and had succeeded, it was a lone torch in the edge of Sanctuary, it seems the shadows were struggling to get close. He was watching it so intently that he didn't see where he was going.

"S-Subaru!"

He crashed headfirst into a wooden wall, though he reflexively shielded Beatrice from the impact. They started falling down as the effects of Murak was wearing off.

 **"M-Minya!"**

From under them, a purple platform appeared and Subaru landed, back-first onto it. He recovered from the impact quickly but noticed that the shadows were rising from the ground up to them, **"Minya!"** he jumped off and chanted again, in front of them, another platform appeared, then another, and another. He jumped across them, covering distance much quicker than before and had caught up with Garfiel who was waiting just outside the gate.

"Haah... Garfiel I got an idea" He said as he landed with Beatrice in his arms, trying to catch his breath. "You got some kinda light source we could use? Any kind's good, we just need it to get rid of those shadows and attack whatever that 'thing' is"

"Light... got it, this way!"

He ran out to the forest and Subaru followed close behind, the shadow now literally chasing after them. In the distance, though he could only faintly hear it, there was a voice, the shadow's voice, it was muffled out like last time, but it was saying something different.

"I love you..."

 **"I love you... I love you... I love you, I love you I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, love, love, love, love, love, love, you, you, you, you, you, only you! Subaru..."**

"Talk about an obsession..."  
"What is she mumbling about, I suppose..."

They kept on running for a few more minutes before, "Gah, w-what!" Subaru's foot started to sink into the shadows, it was like quicksand but slower.

"Damn it!"

He struggled to keep up with Garfiel but making him turn back to get him but, "No, just get light, it'll get rid of these shadows! Hopefully..."

"They're already here!"

He said while glaring at the shadowy figure which they identified as the Witch of Envy, "What do you..." Suddenly, several shadows leaped from the forest and landed near Garfiel, all looked identical, no difference what so ever.

"Your..."  
"L-Lewes-san...?"

About twenty or so Lewes's appeared in front of them, though they all wore a white robe compared to Lewes's usual pale dark purple. They look so emotionless, like their dolls, maybe that's what they were, dolls...

"They're clones, I suppose..." Subaru turned his head to Beatrice, seeing her make a sour look, "This is what you've been doing to Betty's friend, Mother...?" Subaru heard her mutter this but decided that it wasn't the time to ask questions.

"Garfiel! Do something!" Noticing that he was sinking down to his knees, Garfiel rushed forward, so did the Lewes 'clones', he watched as one came straight for them, open it's arms wide and suddenly bursting to specks of light. It worked, Subaru and Beatrice were freed from the shadows and he dragged himself off the ground and went to safe grounds.

He turned back and say something that made his jaw drop, "G-Garfiel..." The young blonde was trembling, no, rather, he was shaking, as if trying to release something.

"GRAAAAAAH- !"

He let out a mighty roar and his body suddenly grew in size, his body was covered in luscious golden fur, accompanied with black stripes, he had just undergone, "Beastification..." Beatrice murmured to inform Subaru.

He charged front hacking away at the shadows that tried to come from him, it wasn't very effective as it only slowed him down, that's when the Lewes clones came from behind, exploding into light as they made contact with the shadows, effectively dispersing them.

He used the chance to draw nearer, the shadows also went after him, "Only... only... Subaru..." it muttered over and over again. Another Lewes came and exploded, then another, and another, until none were left... but he didn't need another one, the figure was just in front of him.

Garfiel raised his right hand, which have grown to at least three times its original size and packed with claws sharper than knives, he started to swing down, but shadows protruded directly from the figure, but from underneath him, one last Lewes clone went between them, one he prepared for this moment.

It exploded, removing the shadows in front of him, the light was blinding but it didn't affect him, his bloodlust wouldn't allow it to. He swung his right arm down at the figure, the speed was fast enough that they heard it whistle as it went down, the sharp claws that would cut in an instant were heading straight towards it, it's impossible to dodge now, there's no chance.

"Grah..."

A grunt was heard and the piercing of flesh was heard, but nothing more, no impact, no screeching, it was like a clean assassination, but the one who did it was not Garfiel.

"G..."

His body filled littered with dark spikes, blood spilling from the tears in his flesh, his hand was simply sliced off, the hit never came, he's dead. The shadows proceeded to rip him up, limb by limb, until there was nothing but a pile of flesh and bones on the ground, slowly sinking into the shadows.

"No..."  
"S-Sub... Subaru..."

The shadowy figure continued to move forward, approaching Subaru, Beatrice came in front of him and summoned a barrier but it was quickly torn down by the shadows, another went and slammed her away, "Beako!" He catches her before she hits the ground, sending him back from the impact.

"Beako, are you alright!"  
"It... hurts... but Betty is fine, I suppose... more importantly..."

She points to the shadows, they advanced closer, they were cornered, "Why did we run in the forest, damn it!" He struggled to get up, the shadows had already grabbed his feet and were going to wrap around his legs.

"I love you..."  
"Shut up..."  
"I love you..."  
"Just... Shut up!"  
"I love you..."  
 **"JUST GOD DAMN, SHUT UP!"**

Even when he screams at the top of his voice, the shadow just kept on repeating it's "I love you", this was insane on a whole nother level, even surpassing Betelgeuese's own.

"Well, I don't love you!"

"I love you, only you'd do, I love you, love you, so love, so love, sooo much love, all, love for you, because I love you, I love you!"

Even if he rejects it, it still won't make it stop, the shadows kept on wrapping his legs, he lifted Beatrice up to his chest to avoid her from being taken as well. They were also slowly sinking down inside. What happens if he falls in, will he ever get out, will he die? If this is truly the Witch, would she let him die?

"Subaru..."  
"Damn it..."

He cursed himself when he heard Beatrice's voice, fear-filled and maybe regret as well. They were slowly sinking down, he could kill himself here, with Minya, but he didn't have the guts to do it, he couldn't kill himself, not in front of Beatrice, no matter the circumstances. But suddenly, the shadows dispersed, he was released from their vice grip and he quickly stepped back.

They looked around to see what could have done it, but they found nothing. But he felt something on his left leg, something warm, a bright light was emanating from his pocket. He reached inside and found the handkerchief that Petra had given him, and he had presumably given it to Echidna... wait...

"You knew about this didn't you..." He said in a quiet yet fierce voice, "You god damn knew about this didn't you! Echidna!" He screamed out her name, he could mentally see her giggling at him with a smirk, he wishes he could punch her right now.

"..."

After he screamed that, the constant mutterings of "I love you" had ceased. The shadow just lays there motionlessly, was the topic of other witches sensitive or was it due to the shock of Subaru's new weapon.

"You don't like it when I talk about the others do you..."  
"I love you, I love you..."  
"Totally unfazed..."

He felt the handkerchief slowly forming into a dagger, albeit there were many creases. He didn't want to look at it directly as it was pretty bright. More shadows go for him but he cut them apart with his cloth dagger. He advanced forward and so did the shadows.

"I love you..."  
"I didn't ask for your love!"

He kept rejecting it as he slashed away at the ongoing shadows.

"I love you..."  
"Not gonna happen!"

The number of shadows increased but it didn't deter him, he just kept on slashing.

"I love you..."  
"Just...  
"Subaru-kun..."  
"Gah-"

He stopped his slashing, but the shadows kept on coming from him, though they were careful. His eyes widened as he stared at the figure, was it out of fear, for intimidation, or anger?

"Who in hell gave you permission to call me that!"

He sprung forward, slashing at the shadows mercilessly.

"I love-"  
"No one can call me that and tell me they love me! No one but one person!"

Some of the shadows were able to make it past the blade and attached onto his shoulders and knees but he the cloth dagger just glowed brighter. He doesn't know what Echidna did to it, but it sure was helping, he aimed the dagger straight at the shadows head.

"The only person I'll allow, is RE-"

It was about a centimeter before the blade was going to plunge into its targets head but he stopped midway and dropped the dagger, and it fell to the ground. The figures head was clearly visible, and it was none other than...

"E-Emilia...!"

Her eyes were closed, though it seems like they were experiencing pain, her face scrunched up in anguish, similar to when she was taking the trial. The Witch must've taken control of her body when he talked about Return by Death during the tea party. Since she couldn't break through Echidna's dreamscape, she couldn't bring the usual punishment, so instead, she decided for a more cruel one.

He was momentarily stunned but recovered quickly and went to grab her out from the shadow but they slammed him back. He landed back to where he dropped Beatrice off, luckily the shadows were aiming for him so it left Beatrice unharmed, except for that one time they slammed her back.

"Subaru... what... what will Betty do... Betty can still do something!"

She said to him, her eyes, her voice, so full of desperation, she was scared, terrorized, this is what death does to you, and to think Subaru has survived this more than once.

"Betty doesn't want to lose Subaru!" She screamed as she clutched his tracksuit, clearly crying, "Not when Betty was having so much fun... Betty doesn't want it to end! Not like this!" The pain of hearing her cries were too much, he thought back on what Echidna has said 'USe one life solely for gathering information, and another for implementing', if he did that, this is all he'd end up with, other people dying, he can't stand it, not when it's this painful.

The shadow, who was occupied with swallowing the bright cloth dagger, was now right in front of them, they couldn't move, they were already locked in position, there's no way out of this.

'I can't do it, not in front of her...'

There was no other choice, being engulfed by the shadows 'might' kill him, but it's not guaranteed so this is the only way.

'I'm sorry...'

He takes a deep breath, preparing himself, "Beako... hold on tight..." she didn't stop crying, she only held on tighter, he didn't want to see her face not when he's doing this.

 **"El...**

The shadows rose up, intending to defend the body from any attack, though it was unnecessary.

 **"Minya..."**

Around thirty to forty purple spears rained down on them, boring wholes everywhere across they're bodies, Subaru could only hear the tearing of flesh and a slight whimper from the girl on him, even that small whimper, it was like a huge rock to the chest.

He laid there, quickly losing consciousness, he could see light coming from under him, he didn't want to see it, he never wants to see it ever again. Then everything went black and he died...

* * *

 **A/N**

 **...**

 **[Subaru]:** The hell with that scene man! I mean it was well written and all but...  
 **[ReviewR524]:** Watashi wa Beti no yō ni kanojo no tame no kyarakutā no kaihatsu ga sukidesu!  
 **[Subaru]:** What's with the Japanese, the rest can't understand ya know...  
 **[ReviewR524]:** I said, "I like Betty so character development for her"  
 **[Betty]:** Betty didn't like being that honest, I suppose, besides, what's the point in character development if it doesn't move on to the next loop, I wonder?  
 **[ReviewR524]:** OH...I have... no idea...  
 **[Subaru]:** So you did that for no reason!?  
 **[ReviewR524]:** Daijōbu, not everything needs reasons, Subaru-san!  
 **[ReviewR524]:** Besides, it was a touching scene wasn't it?  
 **[Subaru &Betty]: **Hmmm... was it... I suppose?

 **...**

A well-written chapter if I do say so myself. Originally, it was gonna go like, "Betty will sacrifice herself so Subaru should run" but then I couldn't put the "Betty doesn't want to die cause Betty wants to be with you" stuff.

Touchy stuff and all but let's end it quickly, I'm getting tired. Upload speed is halved cuz of my mock examinations. Hope you understand... (Before that, try guess who's saying the last line in this chapter...)

Now just a few words to reach 4k ! "love you Subaru... she said, the voice was one filled with feelings for the person, but her rejects them, even though, she continues, I love you Subaru... still he rejects, but it doesn't change the feelings, she will always, love you... Subaru..."

* * *

 _Warlock Alternate Ending_

He held onto her hand as she wept onto his shirt, he was going to do it, it was too painful to bear, "El... Minya" several Minya spears, totaling up to around thirty to forty appeared above them, he chanted the spell quietly so Beatrice wouldn't be able to hear him.

"Betty doesn't want to lose Subaru!" Hearing her voice, he hesitated, he lost concentration and the spears dissipated. His heart hurt so much, hearing her frail voice, the voice of a desperate child, the voice of the same child he promised to be with.

"I'll put an end to your suffering!", that's what he said, just a week ago, and here he is, making her suffer more, he's already failed twice, and he's going to fail again.

"I don't want to lose you guys too... not anymore..." He held onto her, he's already gone past his limits, he can't move his body to do the right thing, all he can do is hold onto her, was it due to their contract, or is it just him...

The shadows kept on sucking them deeper, it was already too late now, if this doesn't work, he doesn't know what will. The shadow has to kill him, he wouldn't forgive himself if it doesn't...

"I love you..." Was the last thing he heard...


	13. Chapter 13: Upon the Stone Cold Floor

**Chapter 13: Upon a stone cold floor**

Once again, he woke up to the cold stone floor. This would be the fourth time he's woken up like this, it's been four times already? For the people waiting outside, it's been thirty minutes since he's entered the tomb, but he felt like he's already spent half a month trying to break through this deadlock, though nothing seems to work.

"ARGH!"

He slammed his fists to the ground, instead of spitting out the gravel in his mouth, he took it in, his eye's filled with loss and regret. More and more things just pile up into the mess, it's almost impossible to keep track of everything at this point.

"Enough mourning... time to get up..." He said to himself as he walked over to the unconscious Emilia.

The person that took over Emilia's body was definitely Satella, the Witch of Envy, there's no doubt about it. The shadows, the strength, it would be impossible for it not to be her. He moves his hands over to touch Emilia's pained face, but he stopped midway.

"..."

Was he scared? Of course, who wouldn't be, just a minute ago, he was attacked by this very girl, though she was possessed by a witch, still, there's no telling it might happen again. The witch was the one that allowed him to Return by Death, so who's to say she can't use it as well? She could simply just come back and possess her again, so was this it?

"Gk..."

Images off the several deaths he's already seen flashed through his mind, eating away his already eroded sanity, this loop would be the one to finish him off, he can't save everyone here, he know's that.

"Damn... it..."

Moving his hand forward would reveal the truth, but he didn't want to see it, not if it would turn out like last time. He fell to his feet, staring at the ground, cursing himself for rambling about his secret with Echidna.

"S-Subaru..." He heard a voice call him, it made his head jerk up.

"Why... are you crying..." A worried Emilia looks at him and wipes the trickling tears that he failed to notice.

He collapsed onto Emilia, breathing raggedly, sobbing a little. His heart was beating uncontrollably due to the immense amount of relief. She just carreworriedlyorridley and told him everything was going to be fine.

Funny, that's what he was supposed to be doing, but seeing Subaru in such a state snapped Emilia out of her trance instantly

.

"So... you took the trials and saw your parents?"  
"Y-Yeah, and I failed as well..."

They were walking out of the tomb, talking about the trials, with Subaru lying to her about the his attempt in order to keep her motivated. "So, it's the same for you too, huh..." she whispered.

"Subaru-kun!"  
"Yo! Yer alright!? Got my amazin self's worried there!"

As the two were making their way up the stairs, everyone else was screaming out to them. It would be natural, they had been down there for about half an hour, but Garfiel's attitude took Subaru by surprise. He should be able to smell it from here, her returned by death twice in day so it's supposed to be unbearable to smell, he could tell by the look on Rem's face, so why isn't Garfiel acting so cautious.

"So you really can't smell it huh..." Subaru murmured, unheard by anyone.

They all went over to Lewes's house. Emilia was put to bed and Subaru asked to have a moment with her, Ram giving him a look before ushering everyone out the room, the ones left being Subaru, Emilia, and Beatrice.

"So, how are you feeling?"  
"I... don't know... I saw a memory in the trial, I could clearly remember it... but something feels weird like it never really happened..."

"Fake memories again, huh..." Subaru mumbles.  
"That... might be due to a contract, I suppose..."

"Contract?" They both said, looking confused, "It's possible, you know, it's with Nii-chan as well, after he made a contract with mother, his memories of his past was partially sealed off, I suppose..."

"S-So... you're saying my real memories were sealed off because of Puck?" she stammered, "Well, it's either that or you somehow met gluttony and they took some of your memories or something like that" Subaru interjected, with Beatrice nodding approvingly.

"Well, whatever it was, we can handle it tomorrow, you should rest for now, Emilia..."

She nods with a yawn and drops to her bed, sleeping instantly. "Woah... she must be really tired to fall asleep like that..."

Subaru motions Beatrice over, she comes to the crystal in her neck and holds it in her hands, closing her eyes, seems like she was in deep concentration.

"Nii-chan is being held back, I suppose..."  
"Really... is there a way we can get him out?"  
"No... but, if we wait for a while longer, we might be able to talk to him, I suppose..."

"Don't really have time for that, any longer and Ram's gonna start to get some ideas..." He walks over to the door and opens, sure enough, Ram was outside, trying to listen in on their conversation, "All yours Ram..."

"..." she just stares blankly and passes the two, "Hey Ram..." Subaru calls out to her, both of them stopped but neither turned their backs, he wanted to try something out, "How's Roswaal doing with his book?"

Hearing that statement made her and Beatrice flinch, the reaction he was expecting from them, "Barusu... I'm going to have to ask you where or who you found that out from... depending on your answer, I might have to..."

Subaru just sighs and lifts his hands up in the air, "I don't know... maybe it was Roswaal himself, or maybe it's Beako, maybe Echidna... or maybe, you told me yourself... I was just making sure, and seems like he really does have that book..."

"W-What...? What do you..."  
"I'm not sure what Roswaal's trying to do, but I don't like it..."  
"Tch, Destiny... can't be defied, Barusu..."

"I don't believe in fatalism Ram... I'm positive I can defy destiny..." He says as he walks out of the room, Beatrice following behind him. As the door closed, Ram sat down beside Emilia, with a frightened expression.

* * *

Beatrice and Subaru split up to do their own thing, she didn't tell him where she's going but he had a feeling he knew where.

He walked around the forest for a while, trying to find a suitable place to think when he bumped into Garfiel who was supposedly looking for him, just as he planned. Unlike his calm self a few minutes ago, he was now furious, something Subaru also expected.

"Yo, Garfiel... how's it-"  
"Cut the crap, what did ya see in the tomb..."  
"Oh... Did Rem tell you? I doubt she would though..."  
"Just answer the question!"

Garfiel tapped his foot impatiently, glaring at him, he just sighed, "I took the trials and I failed... happy?"

"Don't give me that shit, you didn't jus take the trials didya? Yer the only one stinkin of the witch, not Emilia-sama!" he said while angrily stomping his feet, "Fine... I happened to talk to the Witch of Greed, Echidna... happy now?"

Garfiel started approaching Subaru in a rather threatening manner, but Subaru remained unfazed, "And what did ya talk about?" It seems like, depending on his answer, he might do something.

"Well, naturally... I asked about Sanctuary"

"Stop going places yer not supposed to go!" He scorned at his face, "Sanctuary concerns my contracted spirit, I have the right to know about it, don't you think?"

"If ya wanted to know then just damn ask the little girl, no need to dig down and ask the fuckin witch about it! There are things we like to keep away outsiders " he shouted, now starting to show immense aggression, "It's too late for that... and it seems like I know more than you do-"

"Don't ya dare fuck with me! Leave our problems to ourselves, you got no right to snoop in on our business, if ya do, I'll show ya hell!" he grabs Subaru's collars and pins him onto a tree,

"Heh... your gonna show me hell?" Subaru says with a stern gaze, "What are you gonna do? Beat me up to a pulp? Please, that's not even close to the hell I've been..."

"What did you say? My amazin self's not terrifyin enough for ya?"

"Imagine everyone you know burning in front of you, getting stabbed right in front of your eyes, imagine a person you hold dear being forgotten by the world, imagine being eaten alive, imagine being possessed by an evil spirit and forcing your friends to watch you die, imagine all those things Garfiel, then maybe you'll understand to what extent hell means..." He stared deep into his eyes.

"It's a good thing that only I have to experience that hell..." Garfiel understood, he knew that whatever he's been through was much worse than he can ever imagine, so he let him go, "Ya fuckin testing me..."

"You could say that..." He dusted himself and turned to the forest, "Hey, the hell ya off to?!"

"Gotta find Beako! I saw her wander out so I was going to find her, catch ya later, Garfiel!" "Tch, fuckin shit, don't god damn change the atmosphere like that..." Garfiel kicked the ground and went back to his patrol.

"Let's see what you've been holding back all those years... Beako..."

.

The crystal stood right in front of her, glistening as moonlight reflected off it. The door behind her opens and in enters a boy, "Why... am I not surprised, I suppose..." she says as she turns around. She sees Subaru walking up beside her, holding his nose.

"Thought you'd come here... so, care to explain?"

He points over to the crystal, "Just touch it... I suppose, it could be of use..." she mumbles. He does as she says and pokes at it with the tip of his finger, receiving a slight shock from it, "Ouch... was that meant to be a prank?"

She sighs and shakes her head, "The command authority has now been overwritten to you, I suppose, that boy shouldn't have control of them anymore..."

"That boy? Control of them...?"

He tried remembering something, from the last loop, Garfiel transformed into a giant tiger and had an army of Lewes's at his command, so by them, Beatrice means the clone Leweses.

"So now I control the Lewes clones?" she just nods and turns around, "Here comes one now, I suppose..."

The door opens again, and Lewes enters, her face devoid of any expression.

She walks past the two and to the crystal, under it was a bunch of dull crystals. From her sleeves, she had what seemed to be several replacements, and one by one, detached and placed them.

"Can I say that's the original..." Beatrice just nods, "Can I say she's your friend..." She nods again, "Can I say she sacrificed herself for something..." "..."

"Too deep?" she nods. "Okay then... oh looks like Lewes is done..."

After replacing all the crystals, she grabbed the dull ones and approached the door, still not taking any interest in the too that just stared at her, "Uhm... Lewes?" Right after he called, she dropped the dull crystals and turned to look at him.

"..." She stared blankly as if waiting for a command. "Tell her to do something, I suppose..."

"Okay then, hello there... um, care to tell me your name?" Subaru asked, she just tilted her head, as if she didn't understand what he was asking, "She can't handle such a complex question, or she doesn't have a name, I suppose..."

"Complex question? So she can only do stuff like jump around?" and with that, she starts hopping, uncontrollably. "Woah Woah! S-Stop, too much jumping!" and she stops.

"Well... that was interesting, but what do I do with an army of Lewes?"  
"It's up to you, I suppose, you haven't told Betty what's wrong yet..."  
"That's because you won't let me"  
"..."

"Before we get to that, I think the clones could listen to me telepathically so... 'Continue with whatever your doing, follow Garfiel's orders, and don't come here', should give us some time to talk..."

The Lewes that was staring at them blankly, turned and made a run for the door and into the forest, Subaru went out, with Beatrice following him shortly behind. They sat down in the grass facing each other.

"So, wanna talk about it?"  
"It's... not easy to talk about... I suppose..."  
"Anythings possible"

He gets up and walks to Beatrice's spot and wraps his arms around her while resting his chin on her head, "W-What are you doing, I suppose!"

"Nothing, just felt the urge to hug you... anything wrong with that?"  
"N... N-No..."  
"So, let's talk about Lewes-san..."

* * *

A/N

Okay, I did write much more than this, but I noticed that there was a hell lot of plot holes, so I'm gonna have to go through (both) fics and re-write a few things here and there, I knew this was going to happen... that's why I made this into a completely separate fic from Forgive me to avoid some mishaps. So I'm putting this fic on Hiatus for awhile, it'll be marked complete until I round everything up, not sure how long it'll take but I'd say at least 2 weeks, up till maybe a month, nothing more... I hope...

Anyway, this isn't going to affect Warlock in any way, so don't be worried (Red). I've still got some things to study for next week, see ya later!


End file.
